A mechanical engineer by trade, Laszlo ‘Les’ Bruzsa left his home country of Hungary in 1992 and quickly became heavily involved with further developing the very high productivity vehicle combinations that first drew him to Australia.
Fascinated with trucks from a young age, Les says being involved in the development and introduction of more than 20 different multi-combination types, including AB-triples, B-triples, BAB-quads and ABB-quads was “something really special”.
“These vehicles now represent the Australian norm in terms of productivity and safety which we have taken to new heights with Performance-Based Standards (PBS, ed.),” Les says.
Now Chief Engineer at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), Les has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of the PBS scheme for over more than a decade through his roles at the National Transport Commission (NTC), Transport and Main Roads (TMR) in Queensland and the NHVR.
“PBS is very unique and Australia is leading the world in the development of a performance-based regulatory system for heavy vehicles. To be able to drive that forward, and have any influence on its growth is my biggest achievement,” Les says. “I’ve been extremely lucky, because you need to have the right environment and have very forward thinking people in decision making positions who are ready to consider and support a new idea like PBS.”
PBS has come a long way since its implementation in 2007, and the last few years have seen particularly strong growth with now close to 6,000 combinations out on the road. However, there is more to do, Les says. The next stage would be to simplify the PBS process, review the standards and make it more accessible for the industry. “If we can resolve the access issues and convince road managers to provide more access, then the growth rate will increase,” he says.
Les has been commended numerous times for his part in the continuous improvement of heavy vehicle productivity through the application of engineering and technical standards and specialist engineering advice. Yet though his list of awards is impressive, Les remains as humble as ever.
“I feel extremely lucky to be a part of the Australian commercial road transport industry. Even though it is relatively small, it is full of extremely valuable, hard working and committed people and I’m proud to contribute alongside them to make the industry better.”
This Industry Icon article was first published on trailermag.com.au