DAM calls for load code
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• The Drivers Action Movement (DAM) wants hauliers and the Government to give drivers better advice about heavily laden vehicles following two recent deaths.
DAM believe lives are being put at risk because transport companies are trying to save money by cramming too much into 20ft containers riding on four-wheeled trailers. It says that this type of trailer doesn't spread the weight of the load as evenly as a sliding trailer with six wheels.
A six-wheel trailer increases the overall weight to more than 32 tonnes. DAM says the smaller trailers, while legal, are top heavy and increase the risk of a roll-over. It believes this was a factor in two recent fatal accidents on the same road. On 3 June Francis Welby, driver for Trafford Park-based G Benson and Sons on sub-contracted work for Manchesterbased P&O Roadways, was killed when his vehicle overturned on the southbound exit slip road of the M63.
Following the accident Roadways warned drivers of the dangers of this stretch of road and asked experienced drivers to pass on the warning to newer ones.
Roadways believe the problem is more to do with the severity of the bend in the road than the actual load, A spokesman says: "A lot of operators have had problems with that bend and Roadways has taken a proactive step in informing all drivers and subs to be extra careful."