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know the law

19th May 1972, Page 83
19th May 1972
Page 83
Page 83, 19th May 1972 — know the law
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

by Les Oldridge, AMIRTE, MIMI

The Construction and Use Regulations (19)

THE FOUR PARAGRAPHS in Schedule 8 to the C and U Regulations may have to be complied with if loads project over certain amounts. Paragraph 1 requires that the police be notified two clear days before the load is moved; paragraph 2 requires an attendant to be carried; paragraph 3 calls for marker boards to be displayed; and paragraph 4 that the projection is rendered clearly visible.

In many cases a load is only"abnormal" because of its bulk and not because of its weight and can be carried on vehicles complying with the C and U Regulations. This week I intend to confine my remarks to this type of vehicle: the accompanying table summarizes the requirements.

Permanent fixtures

The restrictions apply not only to wide or long loads but to special appliance or apparatus defined in the Regulations as "cranes or other special appliance or apparatus fitted to the vehicle which is a permanent or essentially permanent fixture." Later in the section dealing with this subject it is specifically stated that the expression "vehicle" does not include any forward or rearward projection of a special appliance.

If it were not for this section it could be argued that the jib of a mobile crane was part of the vehicle because it was permanently attached to it and formed part of it. This, clearly, is not the case, and projection forming part of a special appliance must be treated in exactly the same way as a projecting load.

The most expensive requirement of the Regulations relates to the carrying of an attendant — the additional labour cost of carrying the extra man is considerable, and most crane-hire firms have modified their cranes. They have hinged the jibs to allow them to fold back over the vehicle so that the projection to the front or rear is less than that which requires the carrying of an attendant.

There are special exemptions for "racing eights" (the type of boat used in the OxfordCambridge bOat race) and for police, fire brigade and ambulance purposes. One wonders when an ambulance would have a projecting load or appliance to take advantage of this concession.

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