Waka Kotahi’s expanded Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme is picking up steam, with work to start shortly at four new sites.

The CVSP uses roadside technology and intelligent software to screen and collect vehicle number plates and weight data and validate it against the Motor Vehicle Register and Permits data.

An automated assessment based on a range of weight and non-weight-based factors is completed and potentially non-compliant heavy vehicles are directed into the Safety Centre.

Police officers can then carry out a vehicle inspection, including brake testing and a manual compliance assessment, confirming vehicle weight, road user charges, certificate of fitness, logbook and driver impairment.

Two CVSCs, at Glasnevin in north Canterbury and Paengaroa in Bay of Plenty, have been upgraded, and work is expected to start shortly on new CVSCs at Ohakea, Mackays Crossing and Bombay, with the Rakaia CVSC also not far away.

Eventually 12 CVSCs around the country will cover nearly 50%of New Zealand’s heavy vehicle kilometres travelled.

The CVSP was initially called Weigh Right, but the name was changed earlier this year because it no longer reflected the broadened screening capability of the programme, which now encompasses much more than just weight, Waka Kotahi said.

The system is now able to perform a wider range of checks, including:

• Certificate of Fitness and vehicle licence compliance;
• whether the vehicle has active notices ordering it off the road (pink, green or yellow stickers);
• vehicles where safety-related concerns associated with an operator have been identified.

CVSP Manager Sean Bridge said with the move to a much wider range of non-compliance screening, the programme is expanding its contribution to the Road to Zero strategy.

He said that the enhanced ability to use data gathered 24/7 at the CVSC will enable Waka Kotahi and Police to better direct their resources.

CVSCs will be used increasingly as multi-agency facilities in joint education, compliance and/or enforcement operations between the Police, Waka Kotahi and organisations such as the Environmental Protection Authority, WorkSafe, various ministries, regional councils and rural health providers.

A video illustrating new screening introduced by the programme can be viewed here.