Performance based standards: A sustainable solution for transportation in South Africa

Abstract

The costs of logistics in South Africa are dominated by high transportation and fuel costs which are ultimately carried by consumers. An alternative regulatory framework for governing heavy vehicles is explored as a means to not only decrease the costs of transportation amongst heavy vehicles, but also to regulate safety of those vehicles. South Africa has one the highest rates of road deaths in the world, with the 2013 State of Logistics Survey estimating the cost of road accidents to the economy to be in excess of R15bn for 2012. A performance-based standards approach to regulating heavy vehicles allows for increased payload, whilst specifying stringent safety performance measures. This paper presents a comparative study between a current legal vehicle and a proposed PBS vehicle. The PBS combination, with a payload of 51 400 kg, was shown to meet all safety requirements for level two road access according to the South African Smart Truck program. In addition to vehicle safety, the PBS vehicle was found to cause 9.2% less road wear per tonne of payload than the legal vehicle. The PBS combination was shown to achieve an 11.4% reduction in fuel consumption per tonne of payload compared to the legal vehicle, on a return trip from the harbour in Durban to City Deep in Johannesburg and back. The potential savings that PBS vehicles offer exceed tens of billions of Rands each year in fuel savings, reduced damage to roads as well a reduced number of heavy vehicle accidents.