Van registrations are up but overloading needs to come down.

Whilst it is good news that LCV registrations for the year just past were at record levels, the sheer number of vans on our roads could cause problems. 

As Nigel Base, the SMMT’s Commercial Vehicle Manager recently stated, “ ...overloading rates are far too high and rectifying this is a key priority for the coming 12 months.”

Overloading a van can have serious consequences as it affects most of the major components on the vehicle – the ability to brake, wear on the suspension and tyres, clutch life etc.

All of these add to the cost of operating the vehicle. More fuel is used and repairs and replacement parts are not cheap.

And we have in the past been asked to determine how heavy vehicles were that have been involved in accidents to establish if the weight had been a factor.

One of those accidents proved fatal.

 There a range of systems available to make sure that vans are not overloaded, the correct one will depend upon the application. Weighpads for occasional weighing or spot checks or a fixed axle weighbridge for those vehicles delivering full loads to a single point.

The system most commonly specified however is an OnBoard Load Indicator.

Axtec OnBoard Prevents Overloading of Vans

Axtec OnBoard shows front, rear and gross weights permanently on a simple to read colour display. Both the actual numbers and a graphical display are shown so there can be no confusion.

And drivers do not have to remember what their legal weights are as the system will do it for them

Legal weights are shown in green, anything over 80% is shown in amber and overloads are automatically highlighted in flashing red.

There are no knobs, buttons or switches which makes the system simple to use. No training is needed and drivers cannot say they don’t know how to use it. They simply have to look at it.

And for the fleet operator who wants to know what is happening out on the road, outputs for connection to a tracking device are provided as standard so that overloads can be reported back to base.

If avoiding overloads on your vans is a priority for you this year, then we have a range of systems and software to help.