Extended Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme

Our team at Level5Design were pleased to support Austroads again last year in the development of an Extended Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme for Australia and New Zealand.  
Safe, efficient, and sustainable transport relies on the accurate classification and identification of vehicles operating on our road and pathway networks.  

More information on the scheme is contained in the recently published report ‘Background to the Extended Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme for Traffic and Transport Surveys.’

The report details the research undertaken for the extended Austroads vehicle classification scheme to improve understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on roads in Australia and New Zealand. The report proposes an extended scheme that provides greater granularity in the existing 12 classes. It also provides a new class for active transport to address the need to count people walking and using mobility devices, wheelchairs, and scooters. 

The extended vehicle classification scheme will enable the Austroads member agencies to:  

• better manage transport demand within and between modes and plan more responsively  
• identify changes in transport operational performance and optimise plans earlier and more effectively  
• survey active transport and understand how demands integrate with other modes  
• have more confidence in the effectiveness of access controls and regulatory restrictions to optimise heavy vehicle productivity while protecting assets  
• utilise advances in sensor technology to support more automation in transport management, freeing experts to optimise and innovate 

 
The changes to the vehicle classification scheme include: 

• Providing greater granularity 
• Reviewing Level 3 length boundaries 
• Providing a new class for active transport 
• Providing a new class for unmatched vehicles ​