Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)

1.6 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)

A Special Purpose Vehicle is a motor vehicle or trailer, other than an agricultural vehicle or a tow truck, built for a purpose other than carrying goods such as a mobile crane, a concrete pump or drill rig.

Special purpose vehicle (SPV) is also known as special purpose entity (SPE). The purpose of SPV is planning and operation of highly repetitive, confidential, military and civil services. This should represent all transport related.

A SPV that does exceed one or more of the general mass and dimension limits set out in the Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation is then considered a Class 1 restricted access heavy vehicle. 

SPV Class is regulates by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) also grant a mass or dimension exemption permit for a period of not more than three years.

The movement of oversize or over-mass SPVs will be consolidated into a national gazette notices or guidelines specific or under "HVNL" law.

Examples: Military vehicles, Special secret vehicles, Earth moving vehicles.

Fig 1.4: SPV truck

Fig 1.5: SPV farm tractor

Fig 1.6: SPV towing truck

Fig 1.7: SPV police car

Fig 1.8: SPV police bike

Fig 1.9: SPV for IAS / IPS (Indian-Ambassador)

Fig 1.10: SPV liquid transport truck

Fig 1.11: SPV garbage truck

Fig 1.12: SPV boring-well truck

Fig 1.13: SPV Crane

Fig 1.14: SPV articulated truck

Fig 1.15: SPV Armed trucks

Fig 1.16: SPV Ambulance

Fig 1.17: SPV earth mover

Transport Vehicles:

Examples of such vehicles are vans, trucks, or lorries, buses, coaches etc. A brief description of each type follows –

(a) Van – These are light transport vehicles. There are seats at the front and the luggage space at the rear. The side doors are usually of sliding type. The rear door is used for loading or unloading.

(b) Truck – These are heavy goods commercial vehicles with all the axles attached to a single frame. Generally twin wheels are fitted on the non -steered axles. Depending upon the load capacity, there are two or more axles.

(c) Articulated vehicle – This is also a heavy goods vehicle consisting of a tractor and a semi-trailer. The tractor provides the motive power while the trailer carries the goods. The two units are connected together by means of a fifth -wheel coupling (Fig. 1.18).

This type of vehicle has smaller turning circle than the rigid truck. Moreover, the trailer being detachable, the tractor can directly move off after reaching destination with some other trailer unit without having to wait for unloading and re -loading.

However, in this there is less traction available. Moreover steering is more difficult as the trailer wheels do not follow the same path as the tractor wheels.

Fig 1.18: Articulated vehicle

(d) Bus – These are used for carrying large number of people over short distances often in a dense traffic. Not much space for luggage is provided, but there is adequate visibility for the passengers to know where they have to get down. 

Usually there are two doors, the one at the rear for mounting and the one at the front for getting down. Sometimes, the buses have two floors. Such buses are called double-decker buses.

(e) Coach – These are used for transporting passengers over long distances and are therefore provided with luxurious interior with comfortable, adjustable seats and amenities like video.