1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
Overloading Must Be Checked
Page 45
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
-AKERS' recommended payload capacities are 'rapidly becoming a farce. ire widely ignored and it is )1e that many of the prohi, placed on vehicles by Ministry of Transport iers can be traced directly to the results of ent overloading.
tither recently admitted in public that he regarded ins as a normal load for a 7-tonner. He was not what he would treat as the limit of capacity of a in an emergency, but presumably it would be excess of 10 tons. He attracted notice because engaged the attention of the provocative Northern ing Authority, Mr. J. A. T. Hanlon, but he is ily typical of many operators whose overloading es do not excite publicity.
iously, no manufacturer seeks to limit his sales ring an artificially low rating on his vehicles. If igns them as 7-tonners he regards that weight, or y a little more, as a safe maximum. Mechanical re built for stresses imposed by such a weight and !ed it substantially and consistently is to make the dangerous. Any operator who does so must the legal consequences and deserves no sympathy.
Guarantees May be Lost practice has, however, repercussions outside the iate offence of causing danger to life and limb. ;tance, manufacturers who try to interpret guarani new vehicles liberally are strongly discouraged loing so, and the operator who has a genuine ice is liable to be unfairly treated if, as a result of experience, the maker does not discriminate n failure through abuse and through faulty 31.
rloading is also unfair competition with operators ;e appropriate vehicles for the payloads that they [aril)/ carry. In particular, it enables a haulier to is payload capacity and, therefore, his earnings t the need for applying to vary his licence by uting a heavier, more suitable vehicle for a lighter 4e thus avoids possible objections and unwelcome es into his business, only effective solution of the problem is corny certification of gross laden weights by manufacAnd the plating of vehicles accordingly. The great difficulty would be to introduce plating for all vehicles on the same date. To restrict the weights of models built after a certain date and to ignore existing vehicles would be manifestly unfair and have undesirable consequences. Existing vehicles, and particularly those which are old, are in greater need of supervision of gross laden weight than new ones, but to deal with them all at the same time would create severe problems.
The first question to be decided is whether they would be plated by the manufacturers or by Ministry of Transport vehicle examiners. In either case, the certification of gross laden weight for about lm. vehicles would be an immense task. Special difficulties would be created by obsolete models—particularly where the manufacturers had gone out of business—and by conversions not authorized by the chassis makers but nevertheless mechanically sound.
Difficulties of Legislation Manufacturers are strongly in favour of control of gross laden weight, and regulations to this end would be supported by reputable operators. No one, however, has yet resolved the practical difficulties. Good notice of the introduction of legislation on these lines would be required and the closest co-operation between the Ministry, manufacturers and operators would be needed.
Meanwhile, dangerous overloading can be held in check only by the activities of the police and the Ministry's hard-pressed staff of examiners. Ultimately, the economic fallacy of overloading is brought home to users by high repair costs and failures of vehicles in service. While this lesson is being painfully learned, however, a great deal of harm can be done to the road transport industry.
It is within our knowledge that considerable police zeal is to be directed towards overloading on the new motorways. The dangers inherent in overheated tyres should he as obvious to the operator and driver as they are to the police.
Anyone who doubts these words should read the series of three articles on the work of the vehicle examiners, which will begin in The Commercial Motor next week. The first will deal with the checking of goods vehicles on the road and will reveal some of the bitter fruits of neglect and misuse.