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Cover of Guidelines for the Design and Procurement of Incident Response Vehicles
Guidelines for the Design and Procurement of Incident Response Vehicles
  • Publication no: AP-G105-23
  • ISBN: 978-1-922994-16-5
  • Published: 13 December 2023

Incident response vehicles (IRVs) are used to attend incident sites to make the sites safer and provide recovery services to affected networks, vehicles and persons. They are tailor-made vehicles designed with specific considerations for the safety of the incident responders, road workers and road users. To support procurement process of IRVs with national consistency of practice, this guideline presents various aspects to consider when procuring IRVs.

This document provides stakeholders with guidance on models/types and design specifications of incident response vehicles. The guide focuses on three vehicle types: tow trucks, truck-mounted attenuators and utility vehicles. In general, the design considerations are separated into three stages: determining models and general specifications, determining additional features and equipment, and determining markings, signs and other identification measures to ensure visibility and identifiability of the incident response vehicles.

Note: This guidance document should be read alongside relevant standards and regulations.

Feedback

This draft document has been published for consultation with industry and other Austroads stakeholders. Your feedback is important. Please let us know your views about the Guidelines by completing the online feedback survey by 1 June 2024.

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  • Summary
  • Definitions
  • Abbreviations
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1 Background
    • 1.2 Purpose
    • 1.3 Methodology
    • 1.4 Scope
      • 1.4.1 Limitations
    • 1.5 How to Use This Guide
      • 1.5.1 Intended Users
      • 1.5.2 Standards and Guidance Documents
      • 1.5.3 Guideline Structure
  • 2. Approach to Design and Procurement of IRVs
    • 2.1 General Principles
    • 2.2 Matters for Resolution
      • 2.2.1 Warning Light Colours
  • 3. Tow Trucks
    • 3.1 Overview
    • 3.2 Selecting Tow Truck Types and Specifications
      • 3.2.1 Tow Truck Types
      • 3.2.2 Tow Truck Specifications
    • 3.3 Selecting Tow Truck Fit-outs and Equipment
    • 3.4 Markings and Identifications
    • 3.5 Ongoing Maintenance
    • 3.6 Tow Truck Matters for Resolution
      • 3.6.1 Towing Multiple Vehicles
  • 4. Truck-Mounted Attenuators (TMA)
    • 4.1 Overview
    • 4.2 Selecting TMA Models
      • 4.2.1 TMA Selection Aspects
      • 4.2.2 Specifications
    • 4.3 Selecting TMA Fit-outs and Equipment
    • 4.4 Markings and Identifications
    • 4.5 Ongoing Maintenance
    • 4.6 TMA Matters for Resolution
      • 4.6.1 TMA Crash Testing
      • 4.6.2 TMA Compliance
  • 5. Utility Vehicles
    • 5.1 Overview
    • 5.2 Selecting Utility Vehicle Make and Model
      • 5.2.1 Specifications
    • 5.3 Selecting Fit-outs and Equipment
    • 5.4 Markings and Identifications
    • 5.5 Special Vehicles
  • References
Related publications
Incident Response Vehicle Design and Procurement and the Use of Truck Mounted Attenuators in Incident Response
AP-R701-23
Guidelines for the Use of Truck-Mounted Attenuators in Incident Response
AP-G106-23
View all related publications
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