Performance Based Standards II

Research Project, 2018 – 2021

The large increase in the goods transport demands, the growing congestion problem and the environmental concerns over transport emissions, make High Capacity Transport (HCT) vehicles an attractive alternative on the road; an alternative which also results in significant economic benefits. HCT vehicles up to 74t will be introduced in Sweden from April 2018, and in future vehicles longer than 25.25m will probably be introduced. Thus, the existing regulations should be modified to ensure their safe performance. An alternative way of regulating HCT vehicles and their access to the road network is Performance Based Standards (PBS). Under a PBS approach, standards would specify the performance required from vehicles to ensure safety, rather than mandating length and weight limits. The project “PBS for HCT in Sweden”, run 2013-2017, has resulted in a proposal of a PBS scheme for Sweden with attention to winter conditions. The purpose of this project is to further develop the proposed PBS scheme and to support its implementation by Transportstyrelsen. One key aspect which will be addressed is development of standard tires for assessment of HCT vehicles. Another important result will be demonstrators for assessment of HCT vehicles, developed based on the proposed PBS scheme. VTI, Swedish national road and transport research institute, will coordinate the project. Other parties involved in the project are Volvo Group Trucks Technology, Scania, Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd, Transportstyrelsen, Trafikverket, Chalmers University of Technology, Oulu University and Parator Industri AB. The project is planned to start in August 2018 and will be concluded in September 2020. The total project budget is 10.28 MSEK, whereof half of it is sought from Vinnova.