If you drive a special-type vehicle that isn’t a forklift on the road, you must have a W, T or R endorsement on your driver licence. The trainees will undergo formal in class assessment in association with the unit standard/s followed by a short practical assessment drive on the special-type vehicle.

Note: This is not an ‘operators’ course, merely a course which gives you an endorsement so you can drive the special purpose vehicle on a ‘road’ as defined by NZTA.

What’s the definition of a ‘road’? The definition of a road, for the application of transport laws, is very broad. It includes not only streets and highways, but any place the public has access to whether as of right or not.

Topics:

• The W endorsement is for vehicles that run on wheels that aren’t forklifts, passenger vehicles, tractors, fire engines, trade vehicles or vehicle recovery service vehicles.
• The T endorsement is for vehicles that run on self-laying tracks.
• The R endorsement is for vehicles that run on rollers.

The pre-requisite for any endorsement is that the trainee must hold a current New Zealand full Class 1 driver licence.