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Met weighs up pads softly softly
Page 10
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• Axle weighing pads are being tested by the Metropolitan Police for the first time in west London. The police are carrying out quick, accurate and flexible truck weightchecks on hauliers in Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, Hillingdon, Ealing and Heathrow, using SAW 10A weigh pads which are supplied by West Midlands-based PATCTI Services.
The police do not yet recommend the use of axle weigh pads and the Met will carefully evaluate the results of the trial. A police spokesman says that the traffic unit is "screening" the trucks for what he describes as "preventative enforcement". According to Inspector Roger Whelan: "It is important that drivers should be able to see that we are enforcing the regulations, which are intended to improve road safety.
"There is sometimes resentment and a misunderstanding from the public at seeing perhaps two or three traffic police on the roadside, often drawing such comments about use of manpower," he says, "but the new 'Police Weighing Checks' signs appear to be well received, creating a public awareness of another aspect of traffic policing."
The low-profile weighpads are portable, and by linking up the units, axle loads or gross vehicle weight can be monitored. Each pad has a weighing range of up to 10 tonnes, with an accuracy of plus or minus 50kg at full capacity or plus or minus 25kg up to 2.5 tonnes.
Initial trials indicate that GVW break point is about 16 tonnes for the pads, over which they become less useful.