Posted by
Trukor
on 8/17/2020 1:30:11 AM
Fatal consequences due to truck overloading
Trucks come with various shapes and size
particularly the deck length that determines the total weight capacity it can
hold on the run. While your truck is truly a mean machine which refuses to slow
down despite a heavy run, you are required to maintain it immaculately for the
long haul transportation services,
keeping it safe and secure for continuous operations.
Although your trucks can pull more weight
than officially prescribed, rampant overloading of the trucks is a poor choice
to maintain its health together with the drivers’ safety. However, overloading
trucks is a rampant problem faced by the logistics industry which leads to
unsafe operations and can cause fatal injuries, often leading to deaths. National
road transport statistics prove that overloaded trucks are among the leading
causes of truck accidents.
Moreover, cargo on overloaded trucks is
more likely to shift during transit causing improper distribution of weight.
This has a potential risk of rollover if the truck needs to change the lane or
take a sudden turn. This risk due to improper loading however can be attributed
to any vehicle whether overloaded or not. Expert drivers learn about the
emergency handling capabilities of a truck due to their experience, which is
also reduced due to overloading, causing accidents. For example, the braking
pattern changes due to overweight, causing drivers to misjudge braking
distances that might cause fatal accidents.
We give you the major impact overloading
your truck can cause:
·
Accident risk: While overloading truck
violates RTA regulations across states in India, it is the high potential
accident risks that it carries is a cause of major worry. Shifting of cargo at
the top due to overweight causes the truck to turn turtle on the highway
causing a fatal pileup of vehicles. Additionally, the braking pattern can also
change due to overweight causing misjudgment by the drivers to stop the vehicle
at a certain distance.
·
It can cause strain on leaf-spring: Truck
manufacturers design each of their trucks for different purposes. There are
trucks for hauling soft loads, agricultural loads, machinery loads and other
such loads that are specific to their verticals. Trucks are built o carry
heavier loads than passenger cars and for this reason most trucks are installed
with leaf-springs at the suspension to support such heavy weight. Overloading
your truck puts added pressure on its suspension making it challenging for the
drivers to steer the vehicle. Overloading also puts the leaf springs at a
greater risk of blowing out that can lead to the turning of the vehicle. While
this may be a result of continued overloading of the trucks, the leaf springs
start to wear out from the day 1 of overloading of the truck and make them less
effective for absorbing shocks and distributing equal weight that can cause
major accidents.
·
Increase in maintenance cost: Needless
to mention, overloading not only shortens the truck’s service, it also
increases the maintenance cost. Overloading is the number 1 cause of increase
in operations costs due to unscheduled maintenance on your fleet. Unreasonable
increase in the payload not only disturbs the weight distribution but can also
result in personal injuries which might turn out to be fatal in some cases.
Consistent overloading of the truck can create unsafe situations and changes
the integrity of the vehicle putting pressure on its maintenance. The braking
systems, suspension systems and the steering system are error prone due to
overweight and the first systems to be affected causing heavy maintenance
expenditure.
Before you put out your truck for
operations, transporters first need
to know just how much weight your truck can haul. The class of your truck can
give you a rough idea about its capacity – lesser than 1 ton, 1 ton, 3 MT, 5 MT
and higher. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is the total amount of the weight
prescribed that a truck can safely carry which is inclusive of the cargo,
people and fuel.
Curb weight is the total weight of the
truck which includes fuel without cargo and people. To determine the total
payload capacity of a truck, you need to deduct the curb weight from the Gross
Vehicle Weight. The specifications in the owner’s manual clearly give the curb
weight and the maximum gross weight the truck can safely carry. Always check
the manufacturer’s Gross Weight and Curb Weight specifications since all
individual trucks have a different payload capacity.
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