THE RIGHT WEIGH?
Page 5
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• How wrong can you be? Despite all the fuss and bother over the claimed accuracy or inaccuracy of dynamic axle weighbridges it seems that the Department of Transport has been proved right, and the repeat readings given by dynamic axle weighers are within agreed tolerances. Having joined the FTA as an observer at the trials, the RHA says: 'We will have to concede that the system is fair and consistent" (see lead story, page 4).
So can hauliers now be secure in the knowledge that if they are found overloaded on a dynamic axle weigher it is a fair cop? CM doesn't think so. The accuracy of a dynamic axle weigher is not governed soley by the consistency of the actual weigh beam: the speed of the vehicle crossing the beam, the angle of approach and departure on the weighing apron, the skill of the beam operator and the calibration of the equipment must all be taken into account. Despite the recent trials hauliers will want clear assurances on these points.
The DTp says that a report on the trial, produced by independent consultants, will be published later in the spring. It isn't saying what hauliers need to hear — that re-weighing will become standard practice for vehicles found to be over the limit on a dynamic weigher.
If the check-weigh trial has highlighted anything it is the perennial need for accurate, reliable and readily accessible weighbridges. The DTp is to be commended for increasing the number of sites available for self-weighing from 17 to 25. But with more than 400,000 HGVs on Britain's roads does anyone believe that there are enough?
Having been criticised for so long over dynamic weighers the DTp is also to be commended for putting them to the test. Now it's time for the department to invest in a proper network of accurate, 24-hour, weigh-at-will sites that could finally put the "self" back into self-regulation.