Road Traffic Department warns truck operators not to over load vehicles on the roads

* Most roads are being damaged because of overloading by operators — hence they are being subjected to fines

* Weighbridges are over charging operators, saying they are not meant for income generating but are used for safety measures

* They are not meant for income generating but providing guidance to operators to comply with loading limits for their vehicles

By Tione Andisen, MANA

Department of Road Traffic & Safety Services has warned truck owners and operators in the country not to over load their vehicles when transporting goods and services.

Chief Road Traffic Officer, Larry Chewere sounded the warning on Thursday at Balaka Weighbridge during a media tour on projects being implemented by Southern Africa Trade & Connectivity Project (SATCP) under Ministry of Transport & Public Works with funding from World Bank as part of the Nacala Corridor development.

He said most roads are being damaged because of overloading by operators — hence they are being subjected to fines and Chewere further dismissed assertions that weighbridges are over charging operators, saying they are not meant for income generating but are used for safety measures.

“Weighbridges are not meant for income generating but providing guidance to operators to comply with loading limits for their vehicles,” Chewere said. “Our fines generally are not small.

“Weighbridges are placed at specific areas in order to check movements of loads. We normally monitor movements of the loads in order to protect our roads from being damaged as a result of overloading by operators.”

He promised that the Directorate would continue using weighbridges to ensure that right loads are being moved and the project would soon provide mobile weighbridges for spot checks.

Chewere added that they have been conducting workshops, awareness meetings with operators on the dangers of overloading their vehicles and its impact on the life span of the roads.

“Overloading will not only damage the roads but their vehicles are affected as a result of carrying goods which exceed in weight capacity,” he said, adding that the fines are calculated based on current market price and the Directorate usually uses NBS Bank rates for the day.

“If the Directorate is to use weighbridges for revenue generation that means compliance is failing. Fines are there for checks and balances to the operators not to exceed weight limits.”

He said once operators adhere to carry recommended loads, they would help government to save funds for maintenance and they would save their vehicles from frequent maintenance.

“We charge our fines in US dollars because they cater for both local and international operators. We normally collect K80 to K100 million per month. Last year, we collected over K1.4 billion fines at Balaka Weighbridge,” Chewere said.

He disclosed that SATCP would provide funds for the construction of a weighbridge near Machinga Teachers’ Training College in order to curb over loading of trucks passing through the M3 Road.

“We are expecting to have two more weighbridges in Nkhotakota and Mwanza inland in order to control follow of goods on the country’s roads,” he said.

Balaka Weighbridge station manager, Richard Sochera said overloading vehicles cause damage to the environment because they produce a lot of fumes.

He said operators should view mobile and permanent weigh bridges as a tool to protect the roads from being damaged as a result of carrying excess loads.