Performance-based Standards for the Road Sector

This report focuses on arrangements and approaches to the regulation of road transport. Traditionally, heavy vehicles have been regulated by tightly defined prescriptive limits (such as mass and dimension/size limits), which provide little scope for innovation and lead to "one size fits all" outcomes. However, there are significant variations in road and traffic characteristics across road networks, and between urban and inter-city or inter-region routes. Many existing vehicle regulations only indirectly ensure that vehicles are able to operate in a safe manner and control the amount of road and bridge wear they cause.

The report examines existing regulatory approaches and then explores how performance standards might be used to improve regulatory outcomes. Under a performance-based approach to regulation, this level of performance is to be achieved. More flexible performance-based regulations provide for increased innovation and more rapid adoption of new technologies. The report explores the regulatory reform processes in some countries that have led to more direct, outcome-oriented approaches to regulating road transport vehicles.

• Primary Source

ECMT: Performance-based Standards for the Road Sector: Executive Summary, 2005 http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/pub/pdf/05Standards.pdf

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