Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 43/03 – Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions) 2006

originally made under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 and continued in force under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018

Compilation No. 1

Compilation date: 31/10/2024

Includes amendments: Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule) Twin Steer Amendments 2024

Prepared by: Vehicle Safety Policy and Partnerships, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

About this compilation

This compilation

This is a compilation of the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 43/03 – Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions) 2006 that shows the text of the law as amended and in force on 31/10/2024 (the compilation date).

The notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information about amending laws and the amendment history of provisions of the compiled law.

Uncommenced amendments

The effect of uncommenced amendments is not shown in the text of the compiled law. Any uncommenced amendments affecting the law are accessible on the Register (www.legislation.gov.au). The details of amendments made up to, but not commenced at, the compilation date are underlined in the endnotes. For more information on any uncommenced amendments, see the Register for the compiled law.

Application, saving and transitional provisions for provisions and amendments

If the operation of a provision or amendment of the compiled law is affected by an application, saving or transitional provision that is not included in this compilation, details are included in the endnotes.

Modifications

If the compiled law is modified by another law, the compiled law operates as modified but the modification does not amend the text of the law. Accordingly, this compilation does not show the text of the compiled law as modified. For more information on any modifications, see the Register for the compiled law.

Self‑repealing provisions

If a provision of the compiled law has been repealed in accordance with a provision of the law, details are included in the endnotes.

CONTENTS

1. legislative provisions.............................................4

2. Function.......................................................4

3. APPLICABILITY...............................................4

4. DEFINITIONS..................................................5

5. TURNING CIRCLE.............................................5

6. DIMENSIONS OF VEHICLES....................................5

7. AXLE CONFIGURATION........................................7

8. LOAD SHARING SUSPENSION..................................8

ENDNOTES..........................................................9

1.                                           legislative provisions
   1.                                     NAME OF STANDARD
      1.                               This Standard is the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 43/03 – Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions) 2006.
      2.                               This Standard may also be cited as Australian Design Rule 43/03 — Vehicle Configuration and Dimensions.
2.                                           Function

The function of this national standard is to specify requirements for vehicle configuration and dimensions.

1.                                           APPLICABILITY
   1.                                     Applicability Summary
      1.                               This national standard applies to the design and construction of vehicles as set out in the table below.
      2.                               Vehicles certified to any of the "Acceptable Prior Rules" as shown below in the Applicability Table for a particular vehicle category are deemed to comply with this national standard ** provided that ‘T-Group’ vehicles meet clause 6.1.2.4 and clause 7.3.1.

1.                                     Applicability Table

1.                                           DEFINITIONS
   1.                                     Refer to Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005.
2.                                           TURNING CIRCLE

Every vehicle must have a turning circle in either direction, as determined by reference to the extreme outer edge of the tyre track at ground level, not exceeding 25 metres in diameter.

1.                                           DIMENSIONS OF VEHICLES
   1.                                     ‘Total Length’, including any ‘Equipment’
      1.                               Rigid vehicles
         1.                         The ‘Total Length’ of any vehicle, other than a ‘Semi-trailer’ must not exceed 12.5 metres.
      2.                               ‘Semi-trailers’
         1.                         The distance from the ‘Point of Articulation’ to the line from which the ‘Rear Overhang’ is measured must not exceed 9.5 metres.
         2.                         The forward projection from the ‘Point of Articulation’ of the ‘Semi-trailer’ portion of an ‘Articulated Vehicle’ must be contained within a radius of 1.9 metres.
         3.                         The distance from the ‘Point of Articulation’ to the ‘Rear End’ must not exceed 12.3 metres.
         4.                         The length available for the carriage of animals on a ‘Livestock Trailer’ must not be more than 12.5 metres when measured from the inside of the front wall or door of the trailer to the inside of the rear wall or door of the trailer (as the case may be), and any intervening partition must be disregarded.
      3.                               Non-rigid vehicles (other than ‘Road Trains’, ‘B‑Doubles’ and ‘Articulated Omnibuses’).
         1.                         The ‘Total Length’ must not exceed 19.0 metres.
         2.                         ‘Drawbar Length’
            1.                   for a trailer having a single ‘Axle Group’ the ‘Drawbar Length’ must not exceed 8.5 metres.
            2.                   For all other trailers the ‘Drawbar Length’ must not exceed 5 metres.
      4.                               ‘Articulated Omnibuses’
         1.                         The ‘Total Length’ of an ‘Articulated Omnibus’ must not exceed 18 metres.
         2.                         All parts of an ‘Articulated Omnibus’ except mirrors and signalling devices must be capable of moving within a circular track having an inner radius of 5.3 metres and an outer radius of 12 metres.
   2.                                     ‘Rear Overhang’ (including any ‘Equipment’)
      1.                               For a trailer (other than a ‘Semi-trailer’) having a single ‘Axle Group’ the ‘Rear Overhang’ must not exceed the length of the load space forward of the line at the rear of the vehicle from which ‘Rear Overhang’ is measured, or 3.7 metres whichever is the lesser.
      2.                               For a ‘Semi-trailer’ the ‘Rear Overhang’ must not exceed 60 per cent of the distance between the centreline of the ‘Fifth Wheel’ king pin and the line from which ‘Rear Overhang’ of the ‘Semi-trailer’ is measured, or 3.7 metres whichever is the lesser.
      3.                               For all other motor vehicles and trailers (other than ‘Semi-trailers’) the ‘Rear Overhang’ must not exceed 60 per cent of the distance from the centreline of the front ‘Axle’ (or the front ‘Axle’ of a ‘Twin Steer Axle Group’) to the line from which ‘Rear Overhang’ is measured, or 3.7 metres whichever is the lesser.
      4.                               In the case of a vehicle fitted with ‘Twin Steer Axle Group’, the front ‘Axle’ of that group must be the ‘Axle’ used to determine the permitted ‘Rear Overhang’.
   3.                                     Height, including any ‘Equipment’
      1.                               The height of any vehicle, except for a ‘Livestock Trailer’ must not exceed 4.3 m.
      2.                               The height of a ‘Livestock Trailer’ must not exceed 4.6 metres.
   4.                                     ‘Ground Clearance’

The ‘Ground Clearance’ of a vehicle, other than an L‑Group vehicle, measured from a horizontal road surface to any point on the underside of the vehicle except the tyres, wheels and wheel hubs must, under the conditions of ‘Maximum Loaded Test Mass’ loading as specified in the relevant braking rule, be not less than:

1.                               for any point in the width of the vehicle which is within one metre fore and aft of any ‘Axle’, 100 mm;
2.                               for the mid-point between any 2 consecutive ‘Axles’, the dimension in millimetres obtained by multiplying the distance between those 2 ‘Axles’ in metres by 33.33; and
3.                               for any other point, ‘Ground Clearance’ is such that if the wheels of one ‘Axle’ are on one plane and the wheels on the next consecutive ‘Axle’ are on another plane which intersects the first so that the angle between them is 7 degrees 38 minutes the point will pass over the apex transverse to the vehicle formed by that intersection, as shown in Figure 1.

1.                                     ‘Overall Width’, including any ‘Equipment’
   1.                               The ‘Overall Width’ of any motor vehicle (other than an L-Group vehicle) or trailer must not exceed 2,500 mm.
   2.                               The ‘Overall Width’ of an L-Group vehicle must be as follows:
      1.                         In the case of a two wheel vehicle (LA or LC), the maximum width must not exceed 1,000 mm.
      2.                         In the case of a three wheel vehicle (LB or LE) or a motor cycle with a side car (LD), the maximum width must not exceed 1,850 mm.

1.                                           AXLE CONFIGURATION
   1.                                     Vehicles must satisfy the following requirements:
   2.                                     A rigid motor vehicle must be supported by 2 ‘Axle Groups’ disposed as follows:
      1.                               one towards the front of the vehicle, with all wheels connected to the steering system for that part of the vehicle, on either a ‘Single Axle’ or a ‘Twin Steer Axle Group’; and
      2.                               one towards the rear of the vehicle.
   3.                                     A ‘Semi-trailer’ must be supported towards the rear by an ‘Axle Group’.
      1.                               Every ‘Semi-trailer’ which is extendible or fitted with a sliding ‘Axle Group’ must be so constructed that:
         1.                         positive locking devices are utilised;
         2.                         all locking device controls must be in a lockable   enclosure when mounted on the chassis;
         3.                         failure of the engagement of the locking device   must activate a visible and/or audible warning device;
         4.                         where the locking device is air operated the supply must be fitted with a protection valve to prevent loss of air to the air brake supply in the event of line fracture or failure; and
         5.                         the movable assembly must be fitted with substantial stops to prevent disconnection from the vehicle in the event of failure of the locking device.
   4.                                     A trailer other than a ‘Semi-trailer’ must be supported by either:
      1.                               one ‘Axle Group’; or
      2.                               an ‘Axle Group’ towards both the front and rear of the trailer provided that all wheels in the front ‘Axle Group’ are connected to the steering mechanism for that part of the vehicle.
2.                                           LOAD SHARING SUSPENSION
   1.                                     All the ‘Axles’ in an ‘Axle Group’, other than a ‘Twin Steer Axle Group’ with not more than 2.0 metres horizontal distance between the centrelines of each ‘Axle’, must be related to each other through a ‘Load Sharing Suspension’ except:
      1.                               this requirement must not apply to a ‘Close Coupled Axle Group’ on any motor vehicle or trailer (including a ‘Semi-trailer’) with a ‘GVM’ or ‘ATM’ less than 4.5 tonnes provided that the load carrying capacity of each of the ‘Axles’ and the wheel and tyres fitted to each ‘Axle’ is at least 120% of the nominal load imposed on that ‘Axle’ with the vehicle or trailer at its ‘GVM’ or ‘ATM’; and
      2.                               this requirement must not apply to a ‘Close Coupled Axle Group’ fitted with a ‘Retractable Axle’ on any motor vehicle or trailer (including a ‘Semi-trailer’) with a ‘GVM’ or ‘ATM’ less than 4.5 tonnes provided that the load carrying capacity of each other ‘Axle’ and the wheels and tyres fitted to it is at least equal to the load imposed on that ‘Axle’ with the motor vehicle or trailer at its ‘GVM’ or ‘ATM’ and with the ‘Retractable Axle’ retracted.

Figure 1

ENDNOTES

Endnote 1—About the endnotes

The endnotes provide information about this compilation and the compiled law.

The following endnotes are included in every compilation:

Endnote 1—About the endnotes

Endnote 2—Abbreviation key

Endnote 3—Legislation history

Endnote 4—Amendment history

Abbreviation key—Endnote 2

The abbreviation key sets out abbreviations that may be used in the endnotes.

Legislation history and amendment history—Endnotes 3 and 4

Amending laws are annotated in the legislation history and amendment history.

The legislation history in endnote 3 provides information about each law that has amended (or will amend) the compiled law. The information includes commencement details for amending laws and details of any application, saving or transitional provisions that are not included in this compilation.

The amendment history in endnote 4 provides information about amendments at the provision (generally section or equivalent) level. It also includes information about any provision of the compiled law that has been repealed in accordance with a provision of the law.

Misdescribed amendments

A misdescribed amendment is an amendment that does not accurately describe how an amendment is to be made. If, despite the misdescription, the amendment can be given effect as intended, then the misdescribed amendment can be incorporated through an editorial change made under section 15V of the Legislation Act 2003.

If a misdescribed amendment cannot be given effect as intended, the amendment is not incorporated and “(md not incorp)” is added to the amendment history.

Endnote 2—Abbreviation key

Endnote 3—Legislation history

Endnote 4—Amendment history

[*] The category code may also be in the format L1, LA etc.