Overloading HGVs: What Drivers Must Refuse and Report
One topic
Overloading — gross vehicle weight and axle weights beyond legal limits. Load securing and height are separate articles; this one is mass.
Why drivers get named
You are the last person who can refuse to move an illegal weight. DVSA and police weighbridges do not accept “the shipper printed 24 tonnes on the paper” when the scales show more. Fines, prohibitions, and operator action can follow.
Before you leave the bay
- Know the plated weights for the vehicle and combination you are driving
- Compare paperwork / declared weight with what you can see and feel (obvious overload, axle dive, tyre squash)
- Ask for a weigh if your site or procedure provides one and something looks wrong
When to refuse
If you reasonably believe the vehicle is over gross or over axle, do not leave. Call traffic / compliance. Get the refusal on record (time, bay, who you spoke to). Moving “just to the next site” can still be an offence.
Redistribution vs pretend fix
Shifting pallets to balance axles can help when the total is legal. It does not fix an over-gross load. Cutting corners by leaving the site overweight is not a redistribution.
After a weighbridge hit
- Follow officer instructions; do not argue physics on the scales
- Notify the operator immediately with ticket / notice details
- Do not accept pressure to “just go” if a prohibition is in force
Driver habit
Learn the plated figures for the fleet you drive most. Guessing “it always looks like this” is how overload tickets happen on familiar work.
