Heavy-vehicle brakes and testing

Because of their size and mass, a significant focus of our requirements for heavy vehicles is on their ability to brake effectively and stop within safe distances.

The Land Transport Rule: Heavy Vehicle Brakes 2006 applies to all 'heavy vehicles' – those with a gross vehicle mass of 3500 kilograms or more. This page provides a guide to the Heavy-vehicle Brakes Rule, but for more information you should refer to the rule itself. 

Read the Land Transport Rule: Heavy Vehicle Brakes 2006

What the rule covers

The Heavy Vehicle Brakes Rule 2006 covers two issues:

• standards compliance for imported, modified or New Zealand-built heavy vehicles
• in-service brake testing to ensure adequate braking in all loading conditions.

The brake testing method

The in-service brake testing regime is now in place. You should now know which of two testing methods your testing station will apply:

• load simulation by axle or chassis tie-down (a technique where an artificial load is applied directly by hydraulic or mechanical pressure to a vehicle's axles or chassis using strops or clamps), or
• actual load (this option may require more than one visit to the testing station).

Test procedures and protocols

Technical details about heavy vehicle brake testing can be found in our publication: Heavy vehicle brake testing: CoF and entry certification brake test protocol and procedure(external link).

We have produced two brake test information sheets that may assist you and/or your service provider in maintaining your vehicle’s brakes:

• How to reduce the occurrences of brake failure during roller brake testing [PDF, 672 KB]
• Brake testing environments [PDF, 1.1 MB], which explains how different environments may impact on a brake test result.

For more information

For more information, contact a heavy vehicle testing station:

• The Automobile Association (AA)(external link)
• Vehicle Inspection New Zealand (VINZ)(external link)
• Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ)(external link)