Friday 28 October 2016

Changing rules?

One of the results of Brexit maybe that the rules governing goods vehicles could potentially change. 

Whilst not all EU rules are applied in every country, most member states have incorporated a good many of them into their own legislation.

Whilst some of what was decreed in Brussels might be removed, there doesn’t seem a lot to be gained going back to legislation that harks back to the 60’s. Roads, vehicles and technology have changed immensely over the years.

Plus the fact that rewriting the rules would be immensely complicated and probably take years, it seems a reasonable assumption that most of what currently applies will continue to do so.

National governments though have always been able to set their own internal rules when it comes to weights. The UK limit of 44 tonnes is lower than that applied in Ireland for instance.

In the UK there are already trials of longer artic trailers underway. These could be of huge benefit to operators who carry light but bulky materials although they come with their own potential problems; not all distribution centres can readily cope with bigger vehicles.
Axtec Dynamic will weigh any size of vehicle

Whatever changes there may be to size or weight, all Axtec systems are already able to cope.

The Axtec Dynamic Axle Weighbridge will weigh any current or projected road going vehicle regardless of size. One of the reasons the system is so extensively used is that whatever you are weighing the procedure is the same. 

Whether it’s a car derived van or one of the longer trailers currently being trialed, they can all be weighed on the Axtec Dynamic.

Similarly, Axtec OnBoard, which will fit to any 2-axle rigid and most multi-axle rigids is programmed specifically for the vehicle it is being fitted to which means that any changes in vehicle size or weight will have no effect on how it works.


All Axtec systems are effectively future proof then. So whatever the post-Brexit world throws up in terms of weight legislation, there will be an Axtec system able to ready to deal with it.

Thursday 6 October 2016

And the cost of having your van stopped is...


Estimated at £4,000.00 per day.


That's the figure estimated by DVSA as published in their Guidance notes. You can access these notes by clicking this link. 

The DVSA stops more than 15,000 vans a year. And of those stopped, almost 84% of them were found to be overloaded. In fact, overloading was the single biggest fault found with vans by some considerable margin.

Unlike Large Goods Vehicles, that is anything over 3,500kg gross weight, vans can be operated by anyone. No special licence or training is required and yet there are estimated to be around 3.6 million of them on our roads.

Many of them are obviously making deliveries, supermarket home delivery vans and parcel delivery vans but often they are seen as a mobile toolbox.
Axtec OnBoard - prevents van overloads

In those cases the driver of the van is employed as something else – a service engineer or installation engineer – and little thought is given to the van they drive with the emphasis being on how many physical tools or equipment they can get in the back rather than the weight of it.

The design weight of the van though must not be exceeded. The design gross weight includes the van, the driver and any passengers, fuel, the load and anything else that happens to be in the van.

And these days, most drivers and passengers will be kitted out with safety boots, hard hats, hi-viz jackets etc all of which add weight to the vehicle.

The cost of having a van stopped is far in excess of any fine that may be applied. Finding another van and driver and then sending them possibly miles to the prohibited vehicle is very costly.

Or how about the time and effort that might need to go into preparing a case and attending court?

And with your van prohibited you’re not getting to the job. That delivery isn’t being made. The vital piece of equipment isn’t being serviced. Your customer is being let down.

The bad will that a late delivery or missed service call generates could cost your company considerably.

Overloading a van is something that is costly and needs to be avoided so Axtec offer a range of systems to prevent it with prices starting under £1,000.00

So which could you afford more?


I would guess it’s certainly not the £4,000.00 the DVSA estimate it could be costing you.