Weigh up or face the law

Let’s for a moment put things into perspective without bringing into play any commercial interests, scare mongering or sensational journalism.

Fact – it is against the law to use a vehicle on the public highway that is overladen on either gross, train or axle weights.

Operators can do a lot to help themselves and I recommend that in the first instance they adopt something on the lines of the following ‘WEIGH’ acronym to assist them with producing a structured approach towards preventing overloading of vehicles.

W – Working vehicle specification.
E – Educate drivers, loading and supervisory staff.
I – Investigate reported and suspected overloading issues.
G – Good robust policies and procedures.
H – Have a monitoring procedure in place.

According to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency’s effectiveness report for 2006/07 out of 6,050 vans weighed, 3,335 were prohibited for being over laden. The percentage of prohibited vans had risen from 38.7% in 2005/06 to 55.1% as published in the recent 2006/07 report. The percentage figure for 2004/05 was reported as 30.5%.

Resources

Whatever resources have been deployed in recent years to produce these figures, for instance targeted enforcement, advancement in technology, we have to acknowledge that there appears to be a rising trend in light commercial vehicles found to be overloaded.

It is important to understand that an operator’s vehicle can be weighed by a police officer or authorised person, for example, a Trading Standards officer or Department for Transport Officer. Once weighed, a vehicle could be in breach of the law if it is carrying a heavier load than the vehicle is designed to hold or the load distribution is uneven, causing one or more of the axles to bear too much weight.

A useful document that every fleet operator should have on the shelf is the 2002 Department for Transport, ‘Code of Practice – Safety of Loads on Vehicles’, third edition.

Although this document contains much information relating to the HGV sector and load security it does also make reference to vans and overloading.

Let’s now take a brief look at vehicle specifications and examine some of the detail that affects vehicle payload. Assuming an operator has decided on the specific gross vehicle weight as being, for example, 3,500kg, it is now important to examine if a long or medium wheelbase is required. Checks should be made on loads to be carried and a feasibility study carried out to determine which wheelbase option to select and, remember, that as a general rule a small weight penalty can be incurred the longer the wheelbase.

Also, roof options should be considered as these are available from a standard specification to high roof models.

Now fleet operators should review the smaller detail and look at whether they actually need a:

• Dual passenger seat
• Spare wheel and carrier
• Lightweight protective lining instead of ply line.

In addition, a comparison should be carried out of like for like weight and wheelbase models from different vehicle manufacturers.

A company’s education and training plan should include all staff associated with the movement of goods from the warehouse operator, to drivers and supervisory staff responsible for issuing instructions to drivers as a minimum.

Basic

The basic information that should be understood by all should include:

• Knowledge of the location of individual vehicle manufacturer’s plate or Department for Transport plate containing specified permitted weights.
• Maximum permitted axle weights and gross weights for use in the UK.
• The difference between gross train weights (GTW) and gross vehicle weights (GVW).
• Awareness that each overloaded axle may be regarded as a separate offence and, in addition to this, there may also be an offence for gross vehicle weight overload. The maximum fine for each offence is £5,000.
• Requirement for correct load distribution on the vehicle during both the loading and unloading function.

The location of manufacturers’ plates can sometimes be less than obvious. Look on the inside of the door posts or on the vehicle slam panel. On the example pictured (below), the long number at the top of the plate is the individual vehicle’s chassis number, followed by the manufacturer’s name.

The largest figure is the train weight. This is the maximum permitted combination of the gross vehicle weight and the gross weight of a trailer. The 2500 figure in this example represents the maximum permitted gross weight. It will include driver, passengers, tools, fuel, payload and racking system.

Line 1 - is the maximum permitted front axle weight.

Line 2 – is the maximum permitted rear axle weight.

It is essential that all reported or suspected overloading issues are fully investigated and the relevant procedures are updated to ensure continued legal compliance. Drivers must be provided with a basic inventory of the weights of products or tools normally carried and anything additional to this should be treated as an exception and an evaluation exercise carried out to ensure continued legal compliance.

Procedures

Robust policies and procedures are essential and these should include as a minimum:

• Knowledge of where to get vehicles weighed locally.
• Examples of basic load calculations.
• Reporting line and contact information for concerns.
• Company’s policy on overloading prevention and disciplinary procedure.
• Regular reviews of vehicle specifications.
• A training plan for all staff involved in the loading and unloading processes.
• Monitoring of vehicle loads and weight distribution.

A fleet operator should seriously think about implementing a monitoring procedure to ensure continued legal compliance is maintained. This can be conducted internally within an organisation using weighing equipment ranging from weigh bridges, portable weighing pads to on board weigh equipment. An alternative is to contract an external supplier to carry out weight check audits.

Finally we must now look at the serious safety implications that an overloaded vehicle may present on the public highway. Also we must consider the impact it is likely to have on the environment and the unnecessary operational costs likely to be incurred.

Safety of the vehicle is likely to be affected by the additional loading imposed onto components such as friction material, steering, suspension and tyres.

Also, if a vehicle involved in a crash is found to be overloaded the insurance policy may become void.

From an environmental perspective an overloaded vehicle is likely to cause unnecessary air and noise pollution in built up areas. It may also have an adverse effect on road surfaces, underground services and building structures.

An overloaded vehicle is likely to incur greater expenditure against maintenance, tyres and fuel budgets. In the long term this could have considerable impact on the reliability of the vehicle as it would be operating outside of the manufacturers’ specified criteria, which in turn could lead to repairs normally covered by manufacturers’ warranty being rejected and recharged to the vehicle operator.

In conclusion, an operator using overloaded vehicles runs the potential risk of prosecution, will incur higher operating costs, cause unnecessary pollution, create a poor image with enforcement authorities, and risk the health and safety of its staff and that of the general public.

Barry Illing has worked in the transport industry for more than 35 years, including 25 years in fleet management. During almost a decade as road fleet manager for the largest rail freight operator in the UK, he won a number of industry awards. He launched Roadfleet Forte last year. Further information is available at www.roadfleetforte.co.uk

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