Baker attacks confusing rules
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• Leyland Daf's product marketing manager, John Baker, has delivered a stinging attack on the Department of Transport for producing vehicle legislation which is confused, illogical and at odds with proposed EC laws.
Speaking at last week's launch of the latest uprated Series 60 Freighter chassis, Baker called for a closer dialogue between the truck makers and legislators. "As manufacturers we are under pressure to meet customer demands and requirements," he said. "But do we also have to be official interpreters of legislation?"
Baker cites anti-lock braking systems as a prime example: "ABS was clear in terms of implementation dates...but not in terms of vehicles affected." The forthcoming law on anti-lock equipment will cover trucks built after September 1991 and registered after March 1992. It requires that ABS be fitted to all vehicles of 16 tonnes gross and above capable of drawing a trailer of 10 tonnes or above.
But according to Baker the word "capable" is subject to different interpretation. "Is that actual capability as per spec sheet?" he asks, "or is it design capability, or Type Approval documentation capability?"
This confusion is widespread, he says: "Other manufacturers, customers and industry bodies were phoning us to get some kind of consensus."
LD has drawn up a questionand-answer flowchart to decide if a truck requires ABS or not, but Baker warns that "not all CV manufacturers are interpreting the legislation the same way."