The IRTE’s Technical Committee remains the freight industry's only technical forum, as it has been for more than 3 decades. Keeping a proud history of regular meetings during that time, the Committee grew out of the 1970’s Public Hauliers Association (PHA) Technical Committee. (The current Committee still retaining the seats acquired by the PHA in 1976 on “every SABS committee concerned with motor vehicles”; and interfacing with the Department of Transport with a seat on their Vehicle Technical Committee.)

As the PHA changed focus through the 1980’s, becoming the PCA (Public Carriers) and then the current RFA (Road Freight Association), the Committee graduated from a body consisting of only the Technical Heads of the Association's members, to one of a more independent nature, with members from industry suppliers, specialists, and appropriate quasi Government bodies becoming part of the Committee.

In order to give strength and transparency to its work the autonomy thus acquired has been strongly defended; an approach from the RFA earlier this year to be their representative Technical Committee was turned down in preference for the independence of the IRTE branding.

The current make-up of committee, containing a split of 50% IRTE members and outside specialists, is a mix of experience through those who have dedicated their working lives to the industry, and those less experienced through age, but, who bring to the forum the access to the major OEM and component suppliers that employ them.

Meeting formally quarterly (having finally acknowledged the advances in the world of electronic communication that has happened during its life) the Committee makes full use of that technology to conduct its business. Additional to its ‘open’ agenda for items generated by SABS/DoT, its current agenda includes: - investigating ‘Super Single’ tyre loads; Exhaust emission policies; ‘Smart Trucks’ & Height Legislation.

The committee's unequalled mix of experience is freely available for its judgement and opinion on any facet of technical and legislative issue relating to road transport engineering. (Papers or advice requiring such opinion should be forwarded through the IRTE’s Secretary or the Chairman of the Technical Committee. (See ‘Contacts’ page)

Where urgent, or a ‘hands on’ type of investigation is required, or as a pre-cursor to gathering information for submission to the committee for its due deliberation, it is suggested that you approach one of the Consultants listed on this webite. (By example, the paper “IRTE code of practice for safety of vehicle PTO control” on this page was an investigation and report contracted to one of the consultants by the operator concerned. That report, within the ‘privacy’ of the technical committee, was then dissected to produce the ‘code of practice’.)