MARKING WIDE LOAD
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• We were carrying a 40tonne crane on a lowloader and under the Special Types Order when stopped by police. The crane had tracks which were 3.7m at their widest. The policeman said that because the tracks were
over 2.9m wide and projected over each sidi the low-loader bed they must be fitted with marl boards. Marker boards carried on the vehicle bi they are used only for loads which overhang tlfront and rear. What is t law on marking wide loai • While marker boards are required on some wide load moved under the Constructi and Use Regulations they ar not required on wide loads authorised under the Specie Types Order.
Where a wide or sideoverhanging load is moved under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulation 82(2) requires marker boar. facing front and rear, to be fitted to each side of a load h is over 2.9m wide or where t side overhang is more than 305mm. There is no corresponding requirement the Special Types Order, so long as your movement of th crane was authorised under the order it did not require marker boards on the trackE When the wide-load mark board requirement was add( to the C&,U Regulations in 19 no corresponding amendme was made to the STGO.
However, though the marker-board requirements not themselves apply to the movement in question, it WOL be advisable to make the projecting tracks visible to other road users and the bet way of doing that would be to use marker boards.
In the case of Newstead v Hearn (1950) a low-loader WE carrying a bulldozer the blad( of which projected 3ft Bin ME the offside of the vehicle. An oncoming car stopped and drew as far as possible on to nearside grass verge but the bulldozer blade ripped off the side of the car.
The lorry driver was convicted of using a vehicle when the packing or adjustmf of the load was likely to cause danger. The High Court uphet the conviction.
That offence would now IN against Regulation 100(1) of th C&U Regulations.
Changes in 1992 to the Rm. Traffic Act 1988 also mean thz in the circumstances of the above case, a charge of dangerous driving could be brought against a driver.