VED warning on wide loads
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• Cleveland police are warning hauliers who move loads over 4.3m wide that they must pay Article 20 excise duty, currently £5000 a year.
Cleveland Constabulary's Abnormal Loads Division says vehicles carrying loads up to 6.1m wide but weighing less than 38 tonnes fall under Article 20 of the Motor Vehicle Special Types regulations, even though some hauliers believe they should pay a lower rate.
The Cleveland force is taking a firm line on this issue after confirming with the DVLA that Article 20 applies to loads below 38 tonnes.
Bob Stacey, the Road Haulage Association's technical manager, confirms that Cleveland's police are right to enforce Article 20 requirements in this way.
"I'm aware that a lot of people got away with it for many years," he says. "Certainly there must be some people involved because they are being stopped and prosecuted, but there are also a lot of people running around who haven't paid any VED at all."