HGV Brake Testing: Roller Brake Tests, EBPMS and Brake Performance Assessments

Why brake performance assessment matters

The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness treats brake performance as part of every safety inspection. Operators must satisfy themselves that the method used meets Regulation 18 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 — keeping the braking system in good and efficient working order. Looking at pad thickness without a performance figure is not that assessment.

The annual test is a statutory event. It does not replace the assessments that belong with the safety inspections you declared. How often those inspections fall is set by the interval on the vehicle operator licensing service — see HGV PMI inspection intervals, not a one-size-fits-all brake diary invented here.

Accepted methods: roller, EBPMS and decelerometer

Conducting a laden brake test on a calibrated roller brake tester is the most effective method of measuring individual and overall braking performances. A plate brake testing device may also be suitable depending on the design of the equipment.

Laden roller brake tests and the 14-day window

Vehicles can be presented for roller brake testing up to 14 days before the safety inspection date. That lets the operator test while the vehicle is loaded in normal work, without specially loading it for the inspection day. The RBT report must go to the person conducting the safety inspection, and a copy must be retained on the vehicle’s maintenance file.

A signed printout from the RBT, plate tester or decelerometer should be attached to the safety inspection record. If the equipment cannot print, the inspector records the results on the inspection report, including temperature readings where they apply. A photograph of a ticket that never meets the PMI sheet is not “attached”.

• Plan laden tests during normal loaded work where you can
• Keep the printout with that inspection, not in a separate drawer
• Confirm the inspector can read the result before signing the sheet
• Retain confirming tests after brake work that may have affected performance

EBPMS: what it covers and what it does not

If using EBPMS to monitor brake performance, there must be an evaluation of the performance report before every safety inspection by a competent person who can interpret the data. The evaluation must be signed, dated and attached to the vehicle record together with the performance data report. The evaluation and data may be a single document. The EBPMS industry standard specification describes what a suitable system is expected to do.

At present, EBPMS is only available for use on trailers. Trailers fitted with EBPMS would only require a laden brake test if there was insufficient data to produce a report confirming correct operation, or where work has been carried out on the braking system that may have affected braking performance. EBPMS does not replace the statutory annual test brake assessment.

Where a satisfactory EBPMS evaluation is not available and a laden roller test (or a laden report from the last 14 days) is not produced with the inspection, a risk assessment must be completed by a competent person who understands braking systems. The guide still expects every attempt to be made to conduct a laden roller brake test.

Where EBPMS is not used: four laden tests a year

Where EBPMS is not used, it is expected there will be a minimum of four laden brake tests spread evenly across the year. This can include the annual test. That is an expectation in the roadworthiness guide, not a freestanding “test every 13 weeks” statute for every rigid and artic.

An approved and calibrated decelerometer may measure overall brake performance for vehicles without trailers, or for vehicles that cannot be tested on an RBT. A decelerometer will measure overall performance but may not identify individual braking issues. Decelerometers cannot be used for testing trailer brake performance. Temperature checks before and after help show that individual brakes worked; final temperatures need to be significantly higher than initial readings, with relatively consistent readings across an axle.

Where a decelerometer is used, the risk assessment is kept with the vehicle maintenance documents for at least 15 months and produced if required. Retention of that file is covered in HGV PMI inspections and on fleet maintenance software.

What belongs on the maintenance file

The operator remains responsible for producing the record even when a contractor runs the roller. The contractor’s ticket still has to meet the vehicle file you can open on the day of a visit.

Common questions

Is a brake test required at every PMI?

Best practice in the guide is that every safety inspection includes a brake performance assessment using RBT, suitable EBPMS, or a decelerometer with temperature readings. A visual look alone is not enough.

Can the annual test count as one of the four laden tests?

Yes, where EBPMS is not used, the guide says the annual test can be one of the minimum of four laden tests spread evenly across the year.

Does EBPMS replace roller tests on motor vehicles?

No. At present EBPMS is only available for trailers. Motor vehicles still need an appropriate assessment method under the guide.

How does this relate to the daily walkaround?

The daily check looks for defects a driver can find without workshop equipment — including air build-up and visible brake issues. It is not a roller test. See HGV daily walkaround checks.