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MOTORINDIA
l
May 2012
ment and preventive steps. The cur-
rent focus should be on the use of
technology in solving the underly-
ing problem of overloading. There
is also a need for enforcement of
loading rules at source or setting up
of weigh-in-motion stations along
highways. The data so gathered
could be used to generate statistical
overviews on the loading situation
on a specific road. Such overviews
could be used for road design and
maintenance.
If we are able to enforce legal lim-
its on axle loads, we can hope to ride
on better and safer roads. Simultane-
ously, modernization of vehicle fleet
is also to be carried out, to transport
higher loads without exceeding the
permissible axle loads. This would
help in improving management of
roads within the available resources.
Damage to roads as a result of
overloading leads to higher mainte-
nance and repair costs and shortens
the life of a road. Deformation of the
road pavement, with the resultant in-
crease in roughness, leads to higher
vehicle operating costs and reduced
riding comfort and safety.
This, in turn, puts additional bur-
den on the government as well as
road users, who ultimately have to
bear the costs of careless and incon-
siderate overloading.
As per available reports, efforts
have been made in China to curb
overloading through a nation-wide
campaign by strict enforcement of
traffic laws, conducting education
programmes, standardizing vehicle
manufacturing and refitting, label-
ling vehicle tonnage, reducing toll
fees, etc. Overloading of vehicles
has been engaging the attention of
highway engineers and administra-
tors for quite some time.
In a significant judgement de-
livered by the Supreme Court, the
practice of issuing gold cards/tokens
by some State Governments allow-
ing the card holders to overload their
trucks after payment of fixed charg-
es has been banned. The Supreme
Court has desired these State Gov-
ernments to offload the overloaded
cargo and charge the transporter the
cost of the operations.
In addition, the State Governments
have also been ordered to levy a pen-
alty on the extra tonnage. While the
benefits of the SC ruling seem to be
manifold, there have been practical
hurdles in its implementation by the
States. All said and done, the long-
term benefits of ending the system
of government approved overload-
ing could materialize only if the SC
order is implemented strictly.
While damage to roads by heavy
overloaded vehicles cannot be elim-
inated, it is imperative in the inter-
est of road users and road transport
agencies that all reasonable steps
should be taken to minimize the de-
terioration in the condition of roads.
It is essential that government agen-
cies and the transport industry work
in co-ordination to end this menace.
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