BEAWARE FOR UNDER CHASIS SPARE PARTS MFG.{TOWARDS TACKLING OVERLOADING ON ROADS}

Road transport is vital to economic development,

trade and social integration, which include the

conveyance of both people and goods. Easy

accessibility, flexibility of operations, door-to-door

service and reliability have earned road transport

an increasingly higher share of both passenger

and freight traffic vis-à-vis other transport modes.

Roads carry 61% of freight traffic and 87% of

passenger traffic. National Highways, which are

the major arteries of the road network, carry 40%

of road traffic. The unanticipated growth in volume

of goods vehicles coupled with heavy loads is,

however, responsible for premature deterioration

of the roads in the country.

Studies in developed countries have established

that for every increase in axle load beyond the

permissible limit, the extent of damage caused to

the condition of pavement increases exponentially

by power four, which is a significant impact. It has

been assessed that overloaded freight vehicles are

responsible for approximately 60% more damage

to the road surface, as opposed to legally loaded

vehicles. As per the current practice, flexible

pavement is designed for a service life of 10 to

15 years, rigid pavement for 25 to 30 years and

bridges for a life of 50 years. Research carried

out in South Africa has shown that 10 per centOverloading, therefore, reduces the

overloading of goods in excess of prescribed

loads reduces the life of pavement by about

35 percent.

service life of pavement causing signs of early

distress. Unbalanced loading in trucks is also

considered to be harmful to the pavement. As pertruck manufacturer’s technical specifications, loads

in trucks should be distributed in the ratio of 1 to 2

on front and rear axles respectively.

Overloaded vehicles threaten road safety and

contribute to many fatal accidents on our roads.

Literature survey has revealed that overloading of

vehicles poses the following risks:The overloaded vehicle becomes less stable,

difficult to steer and will take longer to stop.Overloaded vehicles cause the tyres to overheat

and wear rapidly which increases the chance

of premature failure or blow-outs.The driver’s control on the overloaded vehicle

is diminished, enhancing the chances for an

accident.The overloaded vehicle cannot accelerate as

normal, making it difficult to manoeuvre.Brakes have to work harder because the

vehicle becomes heavier. Brakes overheat and

lose their effectiveness to stop the vehicle.The whole suspension system comes under

stress and with time, the weakest and most

stressed point can give way.

In short, the overloaded vehicle is a serious concern

for safety and the life of the vehicle is also reduced

considerably.

Since the percentage of goods transported by roads

is increasing, it is expected that heavy vehicles

would remain a common sight on our roads, in

future. However, in the interest of the roads as well

EDITORIAL

(R.P. Indoria)

Secretary General

as the vehicles, overloading should not be allowed

to continue unchecked, for long. Law enforcement

agencies need to take stringent action against the

operators of overloaded vehicles. Compliance

could be achieved through a combination of

enforcement and prevention. Instead of the

current focus on enforcement alone, there should

be a focus on use of technology in solving the

underlying problem of overloading. There is a

need for enforcement of loading at source itself

or setting up of Weigh-in–Motion stations along

the 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 by road administration authorities for

road design and road maintenance. Enforcement

agencies could use this overview in the planning

of enforcement activities, when and where control

stations are to be deployed. If we are able to

enforce legal limits on axle loads, we may hope

to ride on better and safer roads. Simultaneously,

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 the management of roads within the

available resources.

Damage to roads, as a result of overloading,

leads to higher maintenance and repair costs

and shortens the life of a road.

the road pavement, with the resultant increase in

roughness, lead to increased vehicle operating

costs, discomfort, decreased riding quality and

reduced safety conditions. This, in turn, puts

additional burden on the governments as well as

the road users, who ultimately have to bear the

costs of careless and inconsiderate overloading.

As per available reports, efforts have been made

in China to curb overloading through a nationwide

conducting education programmes, standardizing

vehicle manufacturing and refitting, labelling

vehicle tonnage, reducing toll fees etc.

Overloading of vehicles has been engaging the

attention of highway engineers and administrators

for quite some time. In a significant judgement

delivered by the Supreme Court, the practice

of issuing gold cards/tokens by some State

Governments, which allowed the card holders

charges, has been banned. In this judgement, the

Supreme Court has desired State Governments

transporter the cost of the operations. In addition,

the State Governments have also been ordered to

levy a penalty on the extra tonnage. As per the

available newspaper reports, while the benefits of

the SC ruling seem to be manifold, there have been

practical hurdles in its uniform implementation

by all the States. All said and done, the long-term

benefits of ending the system of government

overloading could materialize only if

the SC order is implemented strictly.

While damage to the roads by heavy overloaded

vehicles cannot be eliminated, it is imperative in

the interest of road users and the road transport

agencies that all reasonable steps should be taken

to minimize the deterioration of our roads. For

this, it is essential that government agencies

and the transport industry work together since

overloading is unwanted.approved

to offload the overloaded cargo and charge the

to overload their trucks after payment of fixed

Deformation of

campaign by strict enforcement of traffic laws,

HIGHWAYS, 3, april 2011