Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems Amendment [2009]

Rule 32003/2

Overview

Land Transport Rules are produced by Land Transport New Zealand (replaced from 1 August 2008 by the New Zealand Transport Agency) for the Minister of Transport. Rules are drafted in plain language to reach a wide audience. They go through an extensive consultation process and are refined in response to consultation.

This overview accompanies, and sets in context, the yellow (public consultation) draft of Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems Amendment [2009] (Rule 32003/2). The draft Rule proposes to set in place improved and updated requirements for the certification, and use on the road, of left-hand drive vehicles in New Zealand.

If you wish to comment on this draft Rule, please see the page headed Making a submission. The deadline for submissions is 21 August 2008.

Contents of the overview

• What are Land Transport Rules?
• Why is this amendment Rule being proposed?
• What changes does the amendment Rule propose?
• Safety issues to be considered
• Matters to be taken into account in making the Rule
• How the proposed amendment Rule fits with other legislation
• Publication and information

What are Land Transport Rules?

The NZ Transport Agency (established from 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Act 2003, as amended by the Land Transport Management Act 2008) is contracted to produce Land Transport Rules (Rules) for the Minister of Transport under an agreement for Rule development services with the Secretary for Transport. Rules are usually signed into law by the Minister for Transport Safety (the Minister). They are made in respect of a wide range of matters covered by the New Zealand Transport Strategy. These include safeguarding and improving land transport safety and security, improving access and mobility, assisting economic development, protecting and promoting public health and helping to ensure environmental sustainability.

Land Transport Rules aim to:

• clarify
• consolidate and
• create

land transport law.

Rules are developed by means of extensive consultation and are drafted in plain language to be understood by a wide audience and to help ensure compliance with requirements.

Consultation process

The Government is committed to ensuring that legislation is sound and robust and that the consultation process takes account of the views of, and the impact on, people affected by changes proposed in Rules.

This publication, for your comment, has two parts:

1. an overview, which sets proposed Rule changes in context; and
2. the yellow draft of Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems Amendment [2009] (Rule 32003/2) (the proposed amendment Rule) for public comment.

This draft amendment Rule contains proposals for amending requirements in Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems 2001 (the Steering Systems Rule). Please read the overview carefully and consider the effects that this proposed amendment Rule would have on you, your business, or the members of your organisation. In particular, consider the benefits and costs that would result from its implementation. You will notice that, as an amendment Rule, it sets out only the changes that are proposed.

If you do not have a copy of the Steering Systems Rule, please read the information in Publication and Information about obtaining Land Transport Rules. In addition, the proposed amendment Rule has been linked with the Steering Systems Rule on the Rules website so that the proposed amendments can be seen in the context of the Rule.

The issues that are raised in submissions on the yellow draft Rule will be analysed and taken into account in redrafting the proposed amendment Rule.

Following completion of the public consultation phase, the draft Rule will be sent to the Ministry of Transport for scrutiny. The final draft Rule will be submitted for consideration by the Regulations Review Committee, and will go to Cabinet for noting before being submitted for signature by the Minister.

Proposed timetable for implementation of the Rule

Subject to government approval, it is proposed that the Rule will be signed and come into force in 2009.

Making a submission

If you wish to make a submission on the proposed Rule, please read the material headed Making a submission.

The deadline for submissions is 21 August 2008.

Why is this amendment Rule being proposed?

What is the purpose of the proposed Rule?

This proposed amendment Rule will amend Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems 2001 (the Steering Systems Rule), which sets out safety requirements and standards covering the design, construction and maintenance of steering systems in motor vehicles.

The purpose of this amendment to the Steering Systems Rule is to revise the requirements applying to the certification and use on New Zealand roads of left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles and to ensure that the process is effective, is not open to abuse, and is free of unnecessary requirements and anomalies.

The proposed amendment Rule is also necessary because the Traffic Regulations 1976 (the Traffic Regulations), which set out the current requirements, are subject to revocation by section 219 of the Land Transport Act.

What are the current requirements?

Because vehicles in New Zealand are generally driven on the left-hand side of the road, Regulation 70 of the Traffic Regulations requires that the steering column of a vehicle must be on the right-hand side of the vehicle. Although right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles are the norm, some LHD vehicles are exempted from this requirement and are allowed to be operated in New Zealand without having to be converted to right-hand drive.

Regulation 70(2) of the Traffic Regulations provides for the Director (the Agency from 1 August 2008) to exempt vehicles from the RHD requirement by notice in the Gazette. A ‘blanket’ exemption covering the different categories of vehicle that are exempt from LHD requirements, and the conditions applying to those vehicles, was gazetted in 1998¹. It is proposed that the amendment Rule will carry over those exemptions that are still relevant, with any necessary modifications to the conditions.

The categories of vehicle covered by the 1998 Gazette notice are:

• light² baggage³ vehicles less than 20 years old;
• light vehicles 20 years old or more;
• motor vehicles with dual steering controls;
• other specialist vehicles;
• vehicles operated by diplomats and by ‘Operation Deep Freeze’ personnel;
• vehicles previously exempted from the requirements of regulation 70(1) or from any previous substantially corresponding provisions prior to the coming into force of the Gazette notice;
• vehicles exempted from registration and licensing.

¹ The Left Hand Drive (Exemption from Equipment Requirements) Notice 1998. This notice came into force on 1 April 1998.

² Vehicles of not more than 3500 kg gross vehicle mass (GVM).

³ A ‘baggage’ vehicle is the term applied colloquially to vehicles brought into New Zealand by immigrants or returning New Zealand citizens or residents.

How do New Zealand requirements compare with international practice?

Differing policies apply in other countries. These range from countries (such as the United Kingdom) where there is a great deal of ‘mixing’ of both types of vehicles, to those countries that have very few vehicles that do not comply with the local steering system requirements (such as the United States and Japan). The list below illustrates the differing requirements in countries that are the major sources of vehicles imported into New Zealand.

• United Kingdom: Drive on the left, but allows the operation and registration of LHD vehicles.
• Continental Europe (EU): Drive on the right, but most member countries allow the operation and registration of RHD vehicles.
• USA (and Canada): Drive on the right, but allows operation and registration of RHD vehicles (notably US Postal Service vehicles). British Columbia has recently seen an increase in the numbers of older RHD vehicles being imported from Japan.
• Australia: Drive on the left but, as with New Zealand, allows some restricted importation of LHD vehicles.
• Japan: Drive on the left, but allows unrestricted operation and registration of LHD vehicles.

In countries with vehicle-manufacturing industries, most new vehicles are manufactured for the specific driving conditions in that country, and would have the steering column positioned so that the driver was closer to the centre of the road than the side of the road.

What changes does the amendment Rule propose?

This section sets out the proposals in the amendment Rule and discusses the issues that have been taken into account for various types of vehicle. These types of vehicle are essentially the same as those covered in the 1998 Gazette notice, and the proposed Schedule to the Rule.

Light vehicles less than 20 years old

Current requirements

Currently, a LHD motor vehicle manufactured less than 20 years before the date it was imported may be registered for use on New Zealand roads if:

• it has a GVM of not more than 3500 kg;
• it is imported for the importer's own personal use;
• it was registered, owned and operated by the importer outside New Zealand for 90 days or more prior to importation.

Registration is subject to the importer registering only one such vehicle in a five-year period and the vehicle being registered in the importer's name for at least five years after its first registration.

Discussion

Baggage vehicles

The current process appears to work well for genuine baggage vehicles. However, there does not seem to be any need for, or benefit from, allowing a LHD vehicle to be registered on the sole basis that the owner used it in a LHD country. There is a ready supply of RHD vehicles of all types in New Zealand and these are well priced. It is seldom economically viable to import a vehicle to New Zealand for this reason.

From a safety perspective, it is likely that driving a RHD vehicle in New Zealand would help an immigrant adapt to local driving conditions more quickly than they would if they were to operate a LHD vehicle.

Special interest left-hand drive vehicles

The current requirements were originally intended to provide for baggage vehicles, and as they are the only legal method of registering a modern LHD vehicle in New Zealand, they have been criticised for being inappropriate for importing modern collectable vehicles. In particular, the requirement to own and operate the vehicle overseas for 90 days prior to importation has been criticised as being impractical for New Zealand-based importers – both private and commercial.

Furthermore, allowing an importer to bring in only one vehicle in any five-year period is considered restrictive by car collectors, who argue that there is no evidence that collectors’ LHD vehicles are unsafe on the roads. As with the current policy for vehicles 20 years old or more, these provisions are also easily abused or circumvented by people importing vehicles for commercial gain.

There are a number of other ‘operational’ issues associated with the current policy.

• Problems arise in proving ownership of the vehicle for 90 days prior to importation.
• The restriction on selling a LHD vehicle for five years (or until it is 20 years old) is difficult and resource-intensive to enforce. Moreover, once a vehicle has been sold, any penalty the NZ Transport Agency is able to apply (ie, revoking the registration of the vehicle) would unfairly affect the new owner of the vehicle, not the importer who has broken the “no sale” condition.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

1. The current provision allowing for the registration of baggage vehicles is to be removed and not replaced.
2. It is proposed to replace the exemption provisions as they apply to special interest left-hand drive vehicles with new provisions that would require the vehicle to have a ‘left-hand drive permit’. The conditions for obtaining a permit will be set out in Part II of the Schedule to the amended Rule. As with the Frontal Impact Rule, the NZ Transport Agency would have the authority to determine whether a vehicle met the criteria.

Although the amendment Rule proposes removing the 90-day requirement, a condition of the permit would be that the applicant had not been granted a LHD vehicle permit in the previous two years. In addition, the Rule would apply a proposed quota of 500 LHD permits issued in any calendar year.

Your comments on any other criteria that should apply to this category of vehicle would be welcomed.

Light vehicles that are 20 years old or more

Current requirements

A LHD motor car or LHD goods service vehicle that meets all of the following criteria may currently be imported by a New Zealand citizen or resident if:

• it has a GVM of not more than 3500 kg;
• it is imported for the importer's own personal use;
• it was manufactured 20 years or more before the date it was imported; and
• it is the only LHD vehicle of this type registered by the importer within a 12-month period.

Discussion

These conditions were imposed to limit the number of LHD vehicles entering the fleet, while still allowing collectors of vintage and classic vehicles to register those vehicles. It is usually not commercially viable to import vehicles that are more than 20 years old unless they have some value as a collectors’ vehicle. Imports under this category, therefore, are limited because of the nature of the classic vehicle market.

The conditions that the vehicle be imported for the importer's own personal use, and that the importer bring in only one such vehicle in a 12-month period, were designed to further limit the commercial viability of importing large numbers of LHD vehicles in this category.

Proposal in the amendment Rule

It is proposed to remove the current ownership requirements for this category of imported LHD vehicle. To prevent the new provisions from being exploited for commercial gain, it is proposed that these vehicles not be operated in a transport service.

Specialist left-hand drive vehicles

Current requirements

This category currently covers dual-control vehicles and other specialist vehicles.

A vehicle with dual steering columns and controls may currently enter the fleet under the exemption regime, provided that it is operated from the LHD position only when engaged in an activity which requires LHD control for operational or safety purposes, or because a specialist vehicle type is not available in RHD configuration as a result of a very limited market or supply.

LHD vehicles of the following types used solely or principally for those purposes may enter the fleet:

• mobile cranes;
• vehicles equipped as a hearse;
• vehicles operating wholly or partly on self-laying tracks;
• agricultural tractors or self-propelled agricultural harvesting machines;
• earthmoving machines;
• any specialist vehicle confirmed as having special characteristics, or equipped for special operational purposes, so that conversion to RHD is impractical.

Discussion

These types of vehicle are not over-represented in crash statistics. However, a coroner has recommended that the operational conditions regarding dual-control vehicles be reviewed following the fatal injury of a child by a rubbish collection vehicle being operated from the left-hand side.

Currently, no significant problems are being experienced with these requirements. A minor concern is that the current list might be too limited and that other vehicles that are regarded as being specialist (such as drilling rigs), should be specifically provided for if there is a clear reason for LHD operation.

The question has arisen as to whether it is necessary to provide specifically for hearses, given that these are readily available in right-hand drive. There is potential for a concession for hearses to be abused; something that has occurred in the past.

Your comments are sought on these aspects of the LHD requirements.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

The existing requirements have largely been carried over into the proposed amendment Rule.

Vehicles operated by diplomats

Current requirements

The current exemption applies to diplomats as well as for ‘Operation Deep Freeze’.

Anyone who is, for the time being, entitled to immunity from jurisdiction by or under the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1968 or the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1971, or is engaged in the activities of Operation Deep Freeze, may have a LHD vehicle that they have imported, certified and registered for use on road.

Discussion

Diplomats

The question arises as to whether diplomatic vehicles should be allowed to remain in the New Zealand fleet at the end of the owner's diplomatic posting. There may be some merit in requiring these vehicles to be re-exported.

Operation Deep Freeze

The nature of the Operation Deep Freeze operations, which are undertaken in Christchurch, does not require the use of LHD vehicles. It is not clear, however, whether Operation Deep Freeze still has a need for LHD vehicles.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

It is proposed that the Steering Systems Rule be amended to allow the continued certification and registration for use on road of LHD vehicles imported by foreign diplomatic staff (on the condition that the vehicles not enter the general fleet).

The concession for Operation Deep Freeze is to be removed unless a demand for it can be established.

Your comments on these proposals would be appreciated.

Previously exempted vehicles

Current requirements

LHD vehicles that were exempted prior to the coming into force of the 1998 Gazette notice, are also currently exempted from the RHD requirement.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

It is proposed to include a savings provision in the amendment Rule (similar to the current exemption) to cover vehicles that would have been exempted from the RHD requirement before the amendment Rule comes into force.

Vehicles exempt from registration and licensing requirements

Current requirements

Any LHD motor vehicle that is exempt in accordance with regulation 3 of the Transport (Vehicle Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1994, is currently excluded from the RHD requirements.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

It is proposed to continue this exception.

Former Crown vehicles

Current requirements

Vehicles purchased from the Crown by the owner or by a former owner are excluded, by regulation 70(2) of the Traffic Regulations, from the RHD requirements.

Proposals in the amendment Rule

It is proposed to continue this exception.

Motorcycles with side cars

Proposals in the amendment Rule

It is proposed to allow motorcycles with side cars to have the steering column to the left of the longitudinal centre-line of the body of the vehicle.

Safety issues to be considered

Operation of left-hand drive vehicles in a right-hand drive environment

The main risk to safety from operating an LHD vehicle in an RHD environment arises from the driver being seated near the side of the road, rather than the centre. This limits his or her view of other traffic on the road, particularly oncoming vehicles and those travelling behind, to the right, of the LHD vehicle. Although this risk is lower in urban areas and divided highways, it is particularly high when overtaking, especially on undivided highways, where the risk of a frontal collision (one of the most dangerous types of crash) is increased.

Insufficient international research has been undertaken to enable the safety risk posed by LHD vehicles operating in a RHD environment to be properly quantified. However, statistics from the United Kingdom and Canada indicate that the risk of collision is between 1.3 and 4.5 times greater.

United Kingdom

In the UK, where a number of LHD vehicles (particular continental European heavy goods vehicles) operate on its roads, crash statistics indicate that there is a higher risk of turning and weaving collisions for LHD vehicles operating in the UK RHD environment.

In 2005, LHD heavy goods vehicles from continental Europe were more than 4.5 times more likely to be involved in crashes while turning, overtaking or changing lanes than were those with RHD. It is not clear whether much of the safety risk was largely a result of the delay while drivers mentally adjusted to the local conditions during their initial period in the UK, or whether it was due to their reduced direct field of view to the side and rear on the right-hand side of the vehicle.

The authors of the report⁴, expressed the view that a substantial proportion of these crashes were caused by the latter factor. Although it is likely that the trend of increased risk for heavy vehicles identified by the research, is also valid for light vehicles, it is not known whether the rate of increase would be the same, or markedly different for light vehicles.

⁴ In Transport Statistics (2006), Road Casualties Great Britain 2005. Department for Transport, London UK, pp. 38 & 115.

British Columbia, Canada

Research in British Columbia into the safety of RHD passenger cars in the Canadian LHD fleet concluded that RHD vehicles were approximately 31% more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers of LHD vehicles, and 46% more likely to be at fault in those crashes. The authors of that report⁵ concluded that there was a substantial increased risk posed by the operation of RHD vehicles in a LHD environment.

⁵ Safety of Right-Hand Drive Vehicles in British Columbia. Cooper, Meckle, Nasvcadi and Wiggins. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2007.

The New Zealand situation

In New Zealand, the numbers of LHD vehicles are currently very small in comparison to the size of the fleet⁶ and there is very little information available to indicate whether LHD vehicles are over-represented in New Zealand crash statistics.

⁶ There are approximately 4500 LHDs registered in New Zealand, compared with a total of approximately 4.1 million vehicles registered in New Zealand.

Occupant protection

With the increased complexity of frontal impact occupant protection systems fitted to modern vehicles, it is becoming increasingly difficult to convert a vehicle's drive without adversely affecting its safety systems. Although there is a New Zealand Low Volume Vehicle Frontal Impact standard⁷ in place for vehicles that have been converted from left- to right-hand drive, it does not provide the same level of assurance that compliance with the original international standard would provide.

It is not practicable to require converted vehicles to be tested and certified to the same standards as an unmodified vehicle. As such, it is not possible to ensure that those vehicles would offer the same level of safety as a RHD vehicle that does comply with an approved frontal impact standard or, indeed, the original LHD vehicle.

The difficulty of carrying out a safe conversion is dependent on the construction of the vehicle. A light passenger car will have more complex systems than a large utility or four-wheel-drive vehicle that is not required to comply with a frontal impact standard. Also, in cases where a RHD version of the model is available, it is likely to be significantly more straightforward to carry out a safe conversion because original equipment RHD parts would be readily available.

It is important to balance the increased risk to safety from operating a LHD vehicle against the risk of reducing the level of frontal impact protection by converting it to RHD. In some cases there might be quite a significant increase in risk in carrying out the conversion, while in others (eg, four-wheel-drive vehicles, utility vehicles and models produced in RHD form) the risk might be considerably lower.

⁷ Accessible at www.lvvta.org.nz/stdFrontalImpact.pdf

Matters to be taken into account in making the Rule

The Act provides the legal framework for making Land Transport Rules.

Section 161 of the Act states the procedures by which the Minister of Transport makes ordinary rules. These include the obligation to consult, which has been developed into a series of formal and informal discussion procedures.

Application of Rule-making criteria

Proposed activity or service

Section 164(2)(b) of the Act requires that appropriate weight be given to the nature of the proposed activity or service for which the Rule is being established. The ‘proposed activity or service’ that is covered by the amendment Rule is to update and improve the process for approving the certification and use on New Zealand roads of vehicles that do not comply with the requirement for the steering column to be in the right-hand side of the vehicle.

Risk to land transport safety

Section 164(2)(a), (c) and (d) requires the Minister to take into account the level of risk to land transport safety in each proposed activity or service, the level of risk existing to land transport safety in general in New Zealand, and the need to maintain and improve land transport safety and security.

The risks to land transport safety are those associated with the operation on New Zealand roads of vehicles that afford reduced vision for the driver in certain manoeuvres and, therefore, may present a hazard to the driver and to other road users. The proposed amendment Rule seeks to minimise those risks by allowing the certification and use on road of imported LHD vehicles that meet specified conditions and, in the case of collectable LHD vehicle less than 20 years old, by imposing an annual quota to restrict the numbers of these vehicles entering the vehicle fleet.

Assisting achievement of strategic objectives for transport

The Land Transport Amendment Act 2004 amended the matters that the Minister must take into account when making Rules, to reflect the overarching importance of the government's New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS). The NZTS envisages that, by 2010, New Zealand will have an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable transport system.

Section 164(2)(e) of the Act requires that the Minister must have regard, and give such weight as he or she considers appropriate in each case, to whether a proposed Rule:

1. assists economic development;
2. improves access and mobility;
3. protects and promotes public health; and
4. ensures environmental sustainability.

Economic development

Some specialist equipment (for example, very heavy cranes and earth-moving machinery) is available on the world market only in a LHD version. Allowing those vehicles into New Zealand would have a positive, albeit small, impact on the economy.

Safety and personal security

The proposed amendment is intended to manage and control the safety risks that could be associated with an influx of LHD vehicles into the New Zealand.

Access and mobility

The Rule proposals would have a negligible impact on this objective of the NZTS.

Public health

Continuing the current policy on LHD vehicles is intended to keep crashes and any resulting injuries to a minimum and thereby would promote and protect public health.

Environmental sustainability

The Rule proposals would have little or no impact on this objective.

Benefits and costs of the proposed changes

Section 164(2)(ea) of the Act requires that the Minister have regard to the costs of implementing measures proposed in a Rule.

The proposals in the amendment Rule are largely a continuation of the current regime implemented by the 1998 exemption notice, updated and clarified where required. Consequently, the cost implications of the changes should be minimal.

International considerations

Sections 164(1) and 164(2)(f) of the Act require that Rules may not be inconsistent with New Zealand's international obligations concerning land transport safety, and that international circumstances in respect of land transport safety be taken into account in making a Rule. In developing this proposed Rule, consideration has been given to best practice in relevant overseas jurisdictions.

How the proposed amendment Rule fits with other legislation

Existing legal requirements to be replaced by the Rule

This proposal amends Land Transport Rule: Steering Systems 2001.

Consequential amendments

The following (or a similar) consequential amendment will be proposed to the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 to prescribe the conditions for operating dual-control vehicles in New Zealand:

• “Dual Steering Controls
  
  
• “(1) No person may operate a dual-control vehicle from the left-hand drive position unless the vehicle is at that time engaged in activities that require left-hand drive control for operational or safety purposes.
• “(2) For the purpose of this clause, “dual-control vehicle” means a vehicle that has steering columns to both the left and the right of the longitudinal centre-line of the body of the vehicle.”

Offences and penalties

The draft Rule does not contain offence provisions. These offences would be prescribed in the Land Transport (Offences and Penalties) Regulations 1999.

It is proposed to amend these regulations to provide for a maximum fine of $2000 on summary conviction for making a false declaration in connection with an application for a Category A Left-hand Drive Vehicle Permit.

The proposed penalty is based on section 14 of the Act, which allows for a fine of up to $10,000 for a person who provides false or misleading information when required to give specified information.

Fees

It is proposed to amend the Land Transport (Certification and Other Fees) Regulations 1999 to provide for a fee of $150 for Category A Left-hand Drive Vehicle Permits.

Publication and information

Copies of this document may be obtained by calling the Land Transport NZ (or from 1 August 2008, the NZ Transport Agency) Contact Centre on 0800 699 000. A copy of this document is also available here.

If you have not registered your interest to receive drafts of this proposed amendment Rule (or other draft Rules in the Rules programme), you can do so by contacting us at the address shown on the Making a submission page at the front of this publication, or on the website here.

Information about the Rules programme and process can be found at: www.landtransport.govt.nz/legislation. An electronic form is also provided for registering an interest in Rules.

Final published Land Transport Rules can be purchased from selected bookshops throughout New Zealand that sell legislation. Queries about the availability and price of Rules can be made to the Rule printers, Wickliffe Ltd, on 06 358 8231.

Final Rules are also available at: www.landtransport.govt.nz/rules/.

Page created: 4 July 2008