Load Distribution
Look out for the symptoms of an overloaded vehicle…
If the vehicle is leaning to one side there is something wrong with the way it has been loaded. Maybe it is the fault of the loaders, or maybe the load has shifted during the journey. In either case something needs to be done before the vehicle goes any further.
When fully loaded there will be some compression of the tyre sidewalls at the bottom of the wheel. Overloading will make this much worse and an experienced driver will know the difference. If this excess bulge is not caused by overloading it will mean that the tyre pressure is unacceptably low. In either case the vehicle should not move until the situation has been put right.
The only way to be 100% sure of the weight of a vehicle is to weigh it. If drivers are unhappy about the weight of their vehicle it will be better for them to weigh it than to be pulled over and have the police or the DVSA do so.
A driver must be able to safely distribute the load within the vehicle. This means that the load should be placed so that it does not compromise the stability of the vehicle. Once the load has been correctly placed, it must be properly restrained. This can be achieved by following the principles of safe loading.
The centre of gravity of a load must be kept as low as possible. This means that heavy objects should not be stacked on top of light ones. If the load has a high centre of gravity, it could topple or fall when the vehicle turns a corner. If the vehicle has a high centre of gravity, then it could turn over, even at low speeds.
A full load must be distributed evenly throughout the load area. A full load means that the vehicle may be close to its maximum weight. If the load is not distributed evenly then one of the axles could be overloaded.
A partial load must be loaded against the headboard. With a partial load it is less likely that an axle will be overloaded. This means that the load can be positioned as close to the headboard as possible. When the load is positioned against the headboard it cannot slide forwards during braking and this is where the load should be placed whenever possible.