Drivers and corporations who seek to maximise revenues employ sly tactics to increase the number of materials they can carry on their vehicles. A truck’s mechanical components are degraded and rendered ineffective when exposed to heavy loads. Drivers who overload semi-trucks are putting their lives at risk. It causes accidents, leads to product loss and unplanned maintenance, causes infrastructure collapse, and poses legal concerns. Therefore, there are legal mass restrictions to keep these problems at bay and penalise those who violate them severely. The greatest method to maintain safety is to learn how to minimise truck overloading and operate a more effective business with the proper utilisation of truck scales.
An overloaded truck would exhibit the following symptoms:
- A drooping back end
- Unresponsive suspension and steering
- Poor braking performance
Check the weight or have the mechanical components evaluated if you see any warning flags on your vehicle. Semi-trucks travelling 65 mph and properly loaded require an average of 500 feet to come to a complete halt. The stopping distance is made much longer by overloading. It is also possible that cargo will fall off the truck, causing accidents and loss of profit.
Using truck scales and weighbridges is one of the best ways to ensure that your trucks don’t exceed the legal weight limit. However, they all provide a clear indication of whether or not you’ve crossed the legal limit. Each axle should also be weighed separately from the vehicle to determine the total weight of the truck’s cargo. It is usual for tyres and suspensions to be damaged by axle overloading.
You may think that increasing the amount of goods you can carry on your trucks would bring you abundant profit, but this is not always the case. Instead of increasing productivity, it causes your vehicles’ performance to suffer and jeopardises their safety. A truck overloading accident’s legal and financial ramifications will fall on truck drivers and their employers.
Using truck scales helps reduce weight by removing unneeded equipment or vehicle modifications. Vehicles capable of hauling your cargo without being overburdened should be considered to ensure safety. Make sure your personnel know how to spread a load effectively. To prevent the vehicle from leaning to one side and mechanical components from being harmed, the weight must be equally distributed throughout the back end. Hence, having regular weigh-ins reduces the amount of upkeep required. Because they won’t be carrying as much weight, your vehicles won’t need as many expensive repairs.
With the help of truck scales, you can keep an eye out for indicators of overload, such as worn-out components or a drooping back end. Drivers are to be properly trained to load their trucks and have truck scales on-site to ensure that the trucks are accurately weighed at each destination. To minimise overfilling and boost productivity, Trakblaze provides a variety of truck scales such as the TRUCKMATE (a portable truck scale) and Force 1 (the truck axle scales) and weighbridges to choose from. It’s time to get a price estimate.
