Some access permits require the relevant heavy vehicle to be accompanied by pilot or escort vehicles.

This information explains why the heavy vehicle operator must provide a copy of their permit to any pilot or escort vehicle driver accompanying them.

Chain of Responsibility

Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), heavy vehicle operators have a primary duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities, so far as is reasonably practicable. This requires them, among other things, to share information about the movement, including the route and permit conditions, so all vehicles and drivers involved in the movement can coordinate their actions.

Who must comply with the conditions of an exemption?

The HVNL has specific requirements for heavy vehicle operators accompanied by a pilot or escort, and for the pilot and escort vehicle drivers themselves.

• The pilot or escort vehicle driver must comply with the conditions of the exemption about the use of the pilot or escort vehicle.
• The heavy vehicle operator must ensure the pilot or escort vehicle driver complies with the conditions of the exemption.
• A pilot vehicle driver must not accompany a heavy vehicle on unapproved routes, outside of permitted hours or with fewer than the required number of pilot and escort vehicles.

Penalties apply for contraventions of these HVNL requirements. The legislative provisions are included in HVNL section 130 and section 131.

Note: An exemption may be either a notice or permit.

Sharing exemption information with pilot and escort vehicle drivers

The NHVR issues permits to operators, and not to pilot and escort vehicle drivers.

This means that pilot and escort vehicle drivers cannot comply with their obligations unless the heavy vehicle operator tells them the conditions of the permit.

The heavy vehicle operator cannot comply with their obligations unless they provide the permit information to the pilot or escort vehicle driver.

The best way for an operator to provide the information is to give the pilot or escort driver a full copy of the permit.

Note: If the exemption is based on a gazette notice, the operator should indicate which notice is relied on.

Which exemptions does this apply to?

The responsibilities described apply to any exemption that has a condition requiring a pilot or escort vehicle, whether it be an NHVR:

• permit granting access to a Class 1 or Class 3 heavy vehicle; or
• notice granting access to a Class 1 or Class 3 heavy vehicle.

Note: A Class 1 permit or notice may also incorporate conditions from Schedule 8 of the Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation (MDL).

The NHVR recommends that heavy vehicle operators always provide pilot and escort vehicle drivers with copies of their NHVR permits or notices, as well as any other relevant information.

An operator who fails to provide the information to a pilot or escort vehicle driver who accompanies them risks committing an offence under the HVNL. This applies even if the pilot or escort vehicle driver hasn’t requested the information.

Best practice is to provide the same information to any other parties involved in the movement, and to provide the information to all parties at the earliest opportunity.