How do you spot an overloaded vehicle?

How do you know whether your vehicles are overloaded?

Just looking at them can be deceiving even to the most experienced eye. A while ago we were asked to check weigh a Luton van kitted out with TV production equipment. The load never changed other than fuel and the driver’s lunch box so investing in their own equipment wasn’t cost effective. So we offered to weigh it on some weighpads for them.

Arriving at their premises the vehicle was ready and waiting for us and even before we got out of the car we commented on how low it looked at the back and how the rear axle was definitely going to be overloaded at least.

But having set the weighpads up on level ground and carefully weighed the vehicle, everyone was surprised to find that both axles and the gross weight were just within legal limits. Even our experienced eye had been fooled.

Axtec OnBoard Load Indicator - no guessing weights here!

Back in the days when DVSA were called Vehicle Inspectorate, overloaded vehicles approaching the enforcement site at Beattock Summit were easy to spot as they always struggled to pull up the hill but these days with modern engines, any vehicle climbs that bank with ease and the overloaded ones are not so easy to spot.

So if experienced ‘overload spotters’ can be fooled, how does the average operator know if their vehicles are legal when they leave the yard?

The only sure fire way to ensure legality is to install the correct axle weighing system for your fleet profile and operation.

And as we offer the widest range of systems available from one manufacturer, we can offer impartial advice on the best system for your job.

Running service engineers vans out on the road all day – then Axtec OnBoard would be a useful tool.

Need to invoice customers for bulk materials on artics – then the Trade Approved Axtec Dynamic Axle Weighbridge would be the best option.

Or maybe you need something for spot checks or driver training then a set of portable weighpads would be a good option.

There are many factors to consider – yard space, information required, fleet profile, product mix – with a free in-depth survey to really understand your operation you can be sure that any system you buy will be the right one for your job.

And remove the guesswork that even the best can get wrong.