Any vehicle can be weighed.

The perception may be that only heavy goods vehicles can be stopped at a weight checks. They are after all by definition heavy.

But in fact any vehicle can be overloaded and can be pulled in and weighed.

Figures show that in 2012, 24 cars were weighed for instance. And 19 of them were found to be overloaded.

Car, HGV or anything in between, overloading affects all the major components making vehicles potentially unsafe and in danger of being prohibited. The worst cases could end in a prosecution.

It is not unknown for the insurance on an overloaded vehicle that has been involved in an accident to be invalidated.

Any vehicle can benefit from being weighed.

As in all areas, technology is improving and that includes the detection of overweight vehicles.  The installation of sensors in the road coupled to ANPR cameras ahead of enforcement sites means that an overloaded vehicle is more likely to be detected.

Recent statistics show that the number of these sites are now into double figures and that number could well grow meaning that more overloaded vehicles could be detected.

This is good news for law abiding operators in that they ought not to be diverted from a busy day into a weight check but also because more of those illegal transport companies will be caught.

But many operators find there are positives to weighing their vehicles too, particularly those who err on the side of caution and underload them.

Running vehicles at full legal weight is a good thing. It means you are maximising the capacity and running at peak efficiency.

One of our clients found he could get a staggering 30% more material on each vehicle after he installed his own axle weighbridge.

Imagine reducing your running time by a third.

There are plenty of systems available to prevent overloading. Whether they are weighed back at the depot or out on the road where the load may change throughout the day, there is a suitable system in our range to help.

And reducing the underloading can only add to your profits.

See you at the NEC in October?

We’ll be making our debut at FleetManagement Live at the NEC in October.

The decision to exhibit is a logical step and recognises the increasing number of van operators in the UK. And we have systems that are extensively used by van operators.

Axtec’s OnBoard Load Indicator for instance is ideal for multi-drop or diminishing load operations. Overloading has a detrimental effect on many major components of a van – tyres, brakes, steering, clutch, suspension – and can lead to prohibitions, prosecutions and, if you run larger vehicles, may even affect an ‘O’ licence.

Axtec OnBoard - Preventing Overloading on Vans.

With more new vans registered each year joining already heavily-congested roads, driver and road-user safety has never been more important for fleet operators.

But, with DVSA figures showing 93% of 10,000 vans stopped in 2015 were overloaded, it seems the safety implications of carrying additional weight are not always fully realised.

The Axtec OnBoard Load Indicator can help solve that problem though.

With a simple colour display that shows all the axle and gross weight information all the time and no manual controls so no driver training is involved. Axle and gross weights are all displayed the second the ignition is switched on.

The colour display allows information to be displayed graphically. Legal weights are shown in green, loads over 80% in amber and overloads in flashing red. There’s even an audible alarm selectable by management if required.

And outputs for connection to a tracking device are included as standard. So incidences of overloading can be recorded and reported back to base.

And the customer calibration facility means that keeping the system accurate can be done quickly and simply by our own people.

No expensive service visit is requird.

So if you're operating vans that you need to keep legal, come and see us at the NEC. We’ll be on stand P62 on 3^rd and 4^th of October.