The traditional Tapley meter will not be acceptable, but there are several varieties of Decelerometer which can produce a print out and these are acceptable, but not every time. The wording from the DVSA is forced to admit that it may not be practicable for operators to carry out an RBT for every PMI so a decelerometer test is acceptable if a print out is attached to the records. However they will still expect to see RBT prints out for at least two PMIs during the year. These should be be laden. Like the whole of an operator’s PMI regime, it needs to be seen to be working ie if the RBT following a ‘Tapley’ Test reveals a problem or the RBT readings are just low for the type of vehicle then action needs to be taken regarding the method of brake testing as well as rectifying the mechanical problem. A laden 7.5 tonne vehicle should be achieving RBT and Tapley efficiency figures considerably in excess of the minimum pass percentage.
The local ******* dealer only ever carries out unladen Decelerometer brake tests.