Chain of Responsibility
Under the Chain of Responsibility legislation, load management regulations with regard to mass and dimensions are the responsibility of all parties throughout the chain.
A pilot wouldn’t risk taking off with an overloaded, or incorrectly loaded, plane so this same approach needs to be applied to any truck (big or small) that is carrying a load.
Overloading consequences
Breaching load mass limits has wide ranging impacts on the performance of heavy vehicles such as excessive mechanical strain on vehicle components, reduced braking efficiency, dynamic instability, accelerated tyre wear and damage to road infrastructure.
When the vehicle performance is pushed beyond the limits of the design, the consequences can be disastrous and safety of other road users is compromised. This is why all parties in the supply chain should do their utmost to ensure mass limits are not breached.
Fines
Individuals and/or corporations may be prosecuted under HVNL (Heavy Vehicle National Law) for breaches of mass and dimensional regulations.
With regard to mass, risk categories are as follows:
- Minor risk – less than 5% over mass limit.
- Substantial risk – 5-19% over mass limit.
- Severe risk – 20% or more over mass limit.
In section 96 of the HEAVY VEHICLE NATIONAL LAW (NSW), it states:
Compliance with mass requirements
s96 Compliance with mass requirements
(1) A person who drives, or permits another person to drive, a heavy vehicle on a road must ensure the vehicle, and the vehicle’s components and load, comply with the mass requirements applying to the vehicle, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.
Maximum penalty
(a) for a minor risk breach–$4310; or
(b) for a substantial risk breach–$6480; or
(c) for a severe risk breach–$10790, plus an additional maximum $540 for every additional 1% over a 120% overload (but so that the additional maximum penalty does not exceed $33640).
As you can see, penalties for complacency and oversights with regards to load management can be quite substantial, so it literally, pays to get it right.
Key terms and descriptions for managing vehicle load
GVM – Gross Vehicle Mass – This is a manufacturer’s rating that stipulates the maximum total weight of a vehicle and its load (excluding any trailers and trailer load and including occupants, fuel and other incidental items plus, where applicable, drawbar weight and or applied turntable load) that the vehicle is engineered to carry as it hits the road. Also sometimes referred to as GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight).
TARE weight – Sometimes called unladen weight, is the weight of an empty vehicle or container. By subtracting it from the gross weight (GVM), the weight of the goods and other items carried (payload) may be determined.
GCM – Gross Combination Mass – The total weight of a vehicle and its load plus any equipment, trailer, and its load. This is commonly the sum of the GVM and the GTM but is not always the case. The manufacturer’s GVM should never be exceeded.
The driver’s role
Whilst managers and allocators must, in the first instance make sure the load is within regulations and the right truck is being utilised, ultimately the driver must bear most of the responsibility, which is fair enough, as they are the one supervising the actual loading process.
An exception to that is in situations where a truck is being loaded without a weighing facility to check the final loaded weight (GVM or GCM), this is where it becomes difficult to ascertain an accurate weight and remain compliant.
While I am spoilt at the moment driving a tipper carrying bulk quarry products, I have regular access to weighbridges to verify my weights. In the past however, I have driven to facilities to load a truck and trailer/trailers not having any idea of my combinations tare weight. From a driver’s perspective, tare weight stickers on individual equipment would make this task a lot easier.
What happens when you get it wrong?
This is where it gets interesting. Depending on the sector of the industry you operate within, overloading can be easily fixed, or be a total nightmare.
For tippers (the industry I currently operate in), you can simply tip the load off and start again, or tip off a small amount of the load to comply, no big problem considering the type of load being carried.
A refrigerated truck, it’s completely different because the load is normally perishable. If driven to a public weighbridge and found to be too heavy on the steer axle, the driver must return to the loading facility, reverse back onto the loading dock, remove the entire load and lighten the front axle up a little, a massive head-ache and loss of time. And certainly no friends gained at the distribution centre loading dock.
Industry acknowledgement
For the most-part, the transport industry is doing a good job in understanding and regulating mass limits. Most larger companies will not allow trucks to leave if they are overweight, in fact many will not allow despatch dockets to be printed if a truck on a weighbridge is beyond its total allowable mass, although this relies on the operator at the facility or the computer system knowing what that mass limit for individual vehicles and combinations are, so it’s not perfect.
For smaller trucks with multiple, less experienced, drivers, education on load management is vital to ensure the correct operation and safety of other road users.
Fleet Manager’s role
Fleet Managers and Transport Allocators play a pivotal role in reducing the instance of overloading. By keeping accurate records of vehicle tare weights and configurations, they can reduce the stress and confusion for drivers.
With education and clear guidelines, payloads can maximised without overloading which avoids the hassle of adjusting weights post loading. In some circumstances, it may mean carrying slightly less than legally allowed, though a small reduction in revenue from carrying less freight would be negligible compared to the benefits of safer trucks, reduced pressure on drivers, and less lives impacted by deaths on the road.
