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IN LETTER OF THE WEEK
Page 20
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Ignorance is no defence: all parties are responsible for not overloading
YOUR ARTICLE on vehicle overloading (CM 7 August) highlights an important issue often overlooked by drivers and vehicle operators. It is easy for drivers to assume that overloading is a management concern, and for managers to wash their hands of the problem, believing that it's the driver and not the vehicle operator who will be punished.
Should overloading result in death or injury on the road, however, health and safety and corporate manslaughter legislation may mean that both parties are held to blame. Therefore, it is vital to ensure a safety culture is in place in a company. Drivers need to have the skill, knowledge, experience and training to understand weight legislation and feel comfortable reporting overloading concerns to management, who should be prepared to take immediate action. As a specialist vehicle supplier, we are aware of the issue of overloading. There can be particular problems where a vehicle is of a generally light construction (7.5t) and a crane has been fitted.
With the addition of a crane, while the actual load area is not significantly reduced, the payload is small in comparison.
Alternatively, a six-wheeled suction vacuum tanker, designed to carry a mixture of clean water and effluent, can, when filled with water, potentially rise to 30% over 3— weight.
In addition to driver training, our customers have access to sophisticated on-board E weighing systems that provide the driver with an in-cab continual digital display of the weight distribution across the vehicle axles, thereby reducing the risk of either gross vehicle or axle overloading situations.
Ignorance is never a defence.
Nick Barnett, compliance manager Hitachi Capital Commercial