Site condition requirement#
The site requirements for the informal stopping places does not have to be similar to a formal stopping place or rest area. The site can be found as former stockpile sites that are inactive, which are located on roads that have lack of stopping areas for heavy vehicles.
The site of the informal heavy vehicle stopping place should:
- be flat, for easy access for heavy vehicles
- have no significant drop-off from the edge of bitumen of the highway to the entry/exit
- have a hard standing area sufficiently well-formed and of a reasonable standard to allow heavy vehicles to stand without damage or bogging in normal conditions
- be long enough and wide enough to accommodate one parking space for the largest heavy vehicle using that route (refer to Austroads ‘Standard Design Vehicles’)
- allow a truck to park safely clear of the carriageway (road edge line)
- be such that the condition of the drainage system, road edge and embankment will not be detrimentally affected by heavy vehicle movements
- be relatively remote from properties, so that noise, glare from headlights, etc., will not become an issue
- be sufficiently set back from roadside hazards, such as gullies and drops in embankments, to not prove to be an additional hazard to drivers, especially at night
- not be located at the base of hills, due to acceleration requirements of heavy vehicles.
