Contents

Objective of the Rule

Extent of consultation

Section 1     Application

• 1.1     Title
• 1.2     Commencement
• 1.3     Scope of Rule

Section 2     Amendments to Rule requirements

• 2.1     Fitting requirements for beacons

Section 3     Amendments to Definitions

• 3.1     Amendments to definitions

Objective of the Rule

Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Lighting Amendment 2013 (the amendment Rule) amends Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Lighting 2004 (the Vehicle Lighting Rule). The Vehicle Lighting Rule sets out safety requirements and standards for lighting that is fitted to a vehicle to allow the vehicle to be operated safely under all driving conditions and so as not to endanger the safety of other road users.

The objective of this amendment Rule, and of amendments to seven other Land Transport Rules, is to ensure that legislation that affects the primary production sector is fit for purpose and does not impose unnecessary costs or restrictions, including on the ability of the sector to manage critical operations where time or the weather is a limiting factor.

The amendment Rule enables agricultural motor vehicles to be fitted with one or more amber beacons to provide other road users with advance warning of the presence of these vehicles, particularly on narrow and winding rural roads.

Extent of consultation

For the purposes of consultation, proposed amendments to Land Transport Rules applying to vehicles used for agricultural purposes were combined into a single Rule, Land Transport Rule: Agricultural Vehicles Omnibus 2012 (the Omnibus Rule). The Rule amendment proposals arose out of a review of agricultural transport legislation in 2012 involving government agencies, key transport and agriculture industry stakeholders and the public.

On 19 October 2012, the NZ Transport Agency sent details of the amendment proposals by letter or email to approximately 2300 groups and individuals who had registered an interest in the Rules to be amended. The Omnibus Rule was made available through the NZ Transport Agency’s Contact Centre and, together with Questions and Answers, was also made available on the NZ Transport Agency’s website. The availability of the amendment proposals for comment was publicised in the daily newspapers in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin and in the New Zealand Gazette.

The NZ Transport Agency received 29 submissions on the Omnibus Rule, of which 20 commented on the proposed amendments to the Vehicle Lighting Rule.

Following consultation, the provisions in the Omnibus Rule were split into separate amendment Rules, including this Rule. The submissions that were received were taken into account in finalising this Rule before it was submitted to the Associate Minister of Transport for signing.

Section 1     Application

1.1     Title

This Rule is Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Lighting Amendment 2013.

1.2     Commencement

This Rule comes into force on 1 June 2013.

1.3     Scope of Rule

This Rule amends Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Lighting 2004.

Section 2     Amendments to Rule requirements

2.1     Fitting requirements for beacons

2.1(1)     In clause 11.2(4)(c), replace “vehicle.” with “vehicle;”.

2.1(2)     After clause 11.2(4)(c), insert:

• “(d)     an agricultural motor vehicle;
• “(e)     a vehicle that is required by any enactment to display an amber beacon.”.

Section 3     Amendments to Definitions

3.1     Amendments to definitions

3.1(1)     In Part 2 Definitions, insert in the appropriate alphabetical places:

• “Agricultural motor vehicle
  • “(a)     means a motor vehicle that is designed, constructed, or adapted for agricultural purposes; and
  • “(b)     includes:
    • “(i)     an agricultural trailer; and
    • “(ii)     an agricultural tractor; but
  • “(c)     does not include any vehicle that is:
    • “(i)     of a class specified in Table A of Part 2 of Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance 2002; and
    • “(ii)     designed or constructed for general road use”.
• “Agricultural purpose
  • “(a)     includes:
    • “(i)     land cultivation;
    • “(ii)     growing and harvesting crops (including horticulture and viticulture);
    • “(iii)     rearing livestock;
    • “(iv)     any land management operation undertaken in connection with:
      • “(A)     the operation or management of a farm; or
      • “(B)     a purpose described in subparagraphs (i) to (iii); but
  • “(b)     does not include forestry, or any land management operation not referred to in paragraph (a)(iv)”.
• “Agricultural tractor means a vehicle that is designed and constructed principally for the purposes of:
  • “(a)     towing an agricultural trailer; or
  • “(b)     drawing, or powering, an implement ordinarily used for an agricultural purpose”.
• “Agricultural trailer
  • “(a)     means a trailer that is used principally for agricultural purposes; and
  • “(b)     includes a wheeled agricultural implement, the wheels of which are in contact with the road when the implement is being towed; but
  • “(c)     does not include:
    • “(i)     a trailer that is:
      • “(A)     designed principally for the carriage of goods; and
      • “(B)     operated at a speed exceeding 40 km/h; or
    • “(ii)     a logging trailer”.

3.1(2)     In the definition of ‘All-terrain vehicle’ delete “special purpose”.