The Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool has been developed as an expert tool for Local Government practitioners and is intended to allow heavy vehicle route assessments to be completed in line with PBS route classification guidelines. Use of this expert system results in the consistent application of a heavy vehicle route assessment process across Local Government jurisdictions, this facilitates certainty of operations for industry and ensures that the heavy vehicles that are granted access to local roads are able to safely operate in that environment.

ARRB would like to acknowledge the recent accessibility improvements, including the provision of RAVRAT for free to all Local Government jurisdictions, which has been funded by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. These improvements were developed in collaboration with the funding body and Local Government Associations.

Version 2.0 of the RAVRAT went live in September 2018 and represents major accessibility improvements

• Provision of RAVRAT to all Local Government jurisdictions for free
• Stage 1 integration into NHVR's Road Manager Portal
• Improvements to training resources for the tool, including videos and manuals
• Release of the new website design
• Formation of a Governance Committee to guide future development of the tool

ARRB has formed the RAVRAT Governance Committee with the aim of guiding future development of the tool. This committee is made up of representatives from the following organisations:

• Australian Road Research Board
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
• Municipal Association of Victoria
• Local Government Association of Queensland
• Local Government Association of South Australia
• Local Government New South Wales
• Local Government Association of Tasmania

ARRB would like to acknowledge the functionality improvements, including the addition of OSOM functionality, which was funded by Transport for New South Wales. This material was developed in collaboration with the funding body, IPWEA NSW, Local Government for NSW and the NHVR.

Version 1.0 of the RAVRAT went live in June 2016 and represents some major functional improvements

• Inclusion of the OSOM Module for the assessment of non-standard freight movements on local roads
• Release of the Local Considerations module that facilitates the assessment of non-engineering related considerations related to heavy vehicle movements
• Improvements to route construction
• Automatic element naming
• Automatic route element re-use
• Closer linkages to map
• A transition from Google Maps to Nokia HERE Maps to allow alignment of the RAVRAT data with the NHVR systems

ARRB would like to acknowledge the following organisations that have provided support to develop and maintain the system:

• Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport
• Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure (Victoria)
• VicRoads
• National Transport Commission (NTC)
• Port of Melbourne Corporation
• Australian Local Government Association
• Municipal Association of Victoria
• Local Government Association, Queensland (LGAQ)
• Local Government Association, Tasmania (LGAT)
• Local Government South Australia (LGASA)
• Local Government, New South Wales
• IPWEA NSW
• IPWEA Victoria
• Roads and Maritime Services
• Transport for New South Wales
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR)