Dangers of overloading

Overloading a vehicle isn’t difficult and is something that you can see more and more on Britain’s roads. Manufacturers specifications are rarely close to the truth as they don’t consider the ply lining, fuel, driver and any kit they might carry. Sometimes it’s difficult to get this across to clients as generally the larger the vehicle the higher the cost of the job.

However, it is illegal under the Road Traffic Act and carries a maximum penalty of up to £5,000 per offence, which could be as a result of overloading in connection with an axle (or axles), the gross vehicle weight or the train weight of the vehicle plus the numerous health and safety issues such as much longer stopping distances.

Fines & Penalties:

As of early 2010, there is now a simple graduated fixed penalty (GFP) system, which targets the driver of a vehicle for overloading.

For vehicles up to 10% overloaded – £60 fine
Vehicles 10 – 15% overloaded – £120 fine
Vehicle over 15% overloaded – £200 fine

Then there’s also the consequences of the delivery running late as the vehicle is unable to continue its journey until the excess weight is removed which means sending another vehicle out to the rescue.

As always it’s better to be safe than sorry and we’ll always do things correctly rather than run the risk.