# They can weigh a lorry as they go along -will it be us next



## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

http://www.transportsfriend.org/enforcement/wims.html#how

They can weigh a lorry as they go along -will it be us next ???


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Can be used on any vehicle Mavis.

Dave p


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Thanks. It makes interesting reading, I wonder how it could be applied to caravans? 
:twisted: 
peedee


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## camallison (Jul 15, 2009)

Customs have been weighing vehicles on the move at major ferry ports for many years. That includes vans and cars too. Overweight gives them a reason to stop and investigate why - usually too much booze/baccie being smuggled in.

In addition, I am aware of at least two motorway locations that have been "weighing" vehicles in the inside lane - for the past 15 years.

If we have nothing to hide, then nothing to worry about.

Colin


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

camallison said:


> Customs have been weighing vehicles on the move at major ferry ports for many years. That includes vans and cars too. Overweight gives them a reason to stop and investigate why - usually too much booze/baccie being smuggled in.


Baccy doesn't usually weigh enough extra to register, but booze is a different matter.

It's also what the bumps are for just before customs at Dover, they have a sensitive microphone next to it and if the vehicle jangles too much they pull you over.

It's why I take lots and lots of socks with me when I go over - one on each bottle and it muffles the chinking noises.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

"Of the 271 vehicles identified by the equipment as being overloaded during organised road checks, all were overweight and 204 were overweight to the extent that they were prohibited. These figures provide conclusive proof that this ANPR/WIMS installation gives VOSA enough targeting capability to ensure that a significant percentage of vehicles selected for weighing are actually overloaded. In addition to this, 52 drivers were prohibited for instances of serious drivers' hours breaches, and 44 prohibitions were issued for various mechanical defects. " 

With that number of vehicles discovered and the degree of failure found during the trial it would seem likely that lorries should be targetted for the foreseeable future.

After making inroads into the unsafe lorries the system will no doubt be spread to other road users.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

interesting...

and could presumably be applied to motorhomes easily enough

I was talking to somebody last week at the aire at Honfleur who had met another motorhomer (yes, here we go again!) who was stopped and weighed at a French autoroute checkpoint and fined on the spot €70 for being 200kg over. So I was told :roll: he wasn't forced to get under the weight limit, just advised not to do it again and drove off. You could call it a money making exercise, but 200kg is a hell of a lot over the limit - you couldn't just leave the wife behind and drive off legally! :lol:


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## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

Having read that the MHF survey showed that a large proportion of the participants hadn't had their vans weighed made me think. We haven't weighed ours (despite the fact that I have just discovered a public weighbridge only a mile from our house  ). We are hoping to take the 'new van' on its first outing next month so will take a trip to the bridge to see how we do fully loaded. Might just lay off the chips for a few days before hand though...


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## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

one on A20 after you leave dover before M20

joe


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## rotorywing (Jul 19, 2010)

I tried the local VOSA testing centre, but they didn't do public vehicles !, Haven't a clue where my nearest weighbridge is located !

Martin


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

rotorywing said:


> I tried the local VOSA testing centre, but they didn't do public vehicles !, Haven't a clue where my nearest weighbridge is located !
> 
> Martin


How about this?


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

When I took my van for its MOT, the tester couldnt do it, as he said his lift was rated at 4000kg and it wouldnt lift my van.
I said rubbish, there must be somthing wrong with your ramp, he went onto say it was almost new, and there was nothing wrong with it...

I went elsewhere for the MOT, and didn't have any trouble...

On the way home I took the van to 2 local scrapyards within 2 miles of each other..... And weighed the van on both...

I was quite suprised to find it was exactly the same weight on both..
3500kg dead..... (Van is plated at 4000kg)

I rang the first MOT guy and told him the results, and he still argued that there was nothing wrong with his ramp......I won't be going back...


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

rotorywing said:


> I tried the local VOSA testing centre, but they didn't do public vehicles !, Haven't a clue where my nearest weighbridge is located !
> 
> Martin


My geography of Wales is I am afraid very limited, but will this help?
http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Busines...bridgeoperator/PublicWeighbridgesInWales.aspx


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## rotorywing (Jul 19, 2010)

Many thanks ray for the link, I have rang a few of these sites but some suggested that I get in the queue with their quarry trucks and some just don't answer the phone, I shall come across one someday

Martin


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Stanner

The savage bumps in Dovers customs hall are to slow you right down so the ANPR cameras (located to the right and very low down, but clearly visible) get a clear view and sufficient time to accurately record your VRM (vehicle registration mark)


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## Mike45 (May 25, 2011)

One day all the people who keep saying "If we have nothing to hide, then nothing to worry about" will wake up and discover that, in fact, they should worry about the insidious increase in the powers of the state/authorities.


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## jvh100 (Mar 7, 2012)

chrishodgetrucks co dot uk /useful-info/weighbridges.html

there's a list. Don't know how up to date or comprehensive it is though


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

I wondered who'd be first to take me seriously. :wink:


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

In England, you can find a list of public weigh bridges on your County or Metropolitan Council website, similar in Scotland

In Wales there is a single list that both Ray and I posted.


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Mike45 said:


> One day all the people who keep saying "If we have nothing to hide, then nothing to worry about" will wake up and discover that, in fact, they should worry about the insidious increase in the powers of the state/authorities.


 :roll:


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

Mike45 said:


> One day all the people who keep saying "If we have nothing to hide, then nothing to worry about" will wake up and discover that, in fact, they should worry about the insidious increase in the powers of the state/authorities.


It is not as if this is new, really. Any experienced traffic division police officer can tell you which wagons are overloaded without benefit of any equipment. Did people think they just stopped lorries at random before?!

Patrick


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

Patrick_Phillips said:


> Any experienced traffic division police officer can tell you which wagons are overloaded without benefit of any equipment. Did people think they just stopped lorries at random before?!
> 
> Patrick


Ah, the joy of air suspension, the overloaded motorhomers friend :twisted:


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## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

An officer once described his reason for stopping a wagon was due to the fact that the rear tyres looked like elephants ankles! Needless to say it had been overloaded.


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## MyGalSal (Dec 8, 2008)

bognormike said:


> interesting...
> 
> and could presumably be applied to motorhomes easily enough
> 
> I was talking to somebody last week at the aire at Honfleur who had met another motorhomer (yes, here we go again!) who was stopped and weighed at a French autoroute checkpoint and fined on the spot €70 for being 200kg over. So I was told :roll: he wasn't forced to get under the weight limit, just advised not to do it again and drove off. You could call it a money making exercise, but 200kg is a hell of a lot over the limit - you couldn't just leave the wife behind and drive off legally! :lol:


Ah Bognormike
I don't know who you were talking to at Honfleur but.... 2 years ago I was stopped by the French police just after coming through the Peage on the A63 at Bidart. We were 200kgs overweight and fined €90.  We were allowed to continue our journey without ditching any of our excess weight. This was in our previous van which was a Hymer. The literature stated that we should have 740kg payload. It lied!  When we arrived on site we stripped the van, weighed everything individually and when we got home stripped the van again and put it empty on a weighbridge. Discovered we only had 500kg payload hence we unsuspectingly overloaded. A lesson well learned. We sold the van, bought a 4.5t - another Hymer, because we like the marque but again the literature lies. It states a 1400kg payload and it is only 800kg, which is sufficient for our needs but only just. It is amazing how the little bits and pieces quickly add up to lots of kilos especially if you carry passengers. And we did then and are now taking into account our own add-ons. Hymer's version of a standard van is not the one you see on the shop floor at the dealers and would think is a standard van.
By the way, the weighbridge at Bidart was just one strip. They weighed front axle first then rear axle.
Sal


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

MyGalSal said:


> bognormike said:
> 
> 
> > interesting...
> ...


Hi Sal

it was a geordie couple; the way he was talking it was a recent event! Glad you got it sorted though 8) I have learned through experience (and others on here!) not to believe any guff about payload, only the evidence of weighbridges!


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## MyGalSal (Dec 8, 2008)

[/quote]

Hi Sal

it was a geordie couple; the way he was talking it was a recent event! Glad you got it sorted though 8) I have learned through experience (and others on here!) not to believe any guff about payload, only the evidence of weighbridges![/quote]


> A Geordie couple?  That's interesting, we are a Geordie couple too!
> 
> Sal


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

Weigh bridges are designed to weigh heavy lorries not light motorhomes.

I wonder what the maximum error is likely to be on a weighbridge weighing a 3500 kg vehicle?

Quite high, as a percentage of the payload, I would imagine.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

oldun said:


> Weigh bridges are designed to weigh heavy lorries not light motorhomes.
> 
> I wonder what the maximum error is likely to be on a weighbridge weighing a 3500 kg vehicle?
> 
> Quite high, as a percentage of the payload, I would imagine.


A weighbridge will usually have a tolerance of plus or minus 20kg


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We identified 270kg of removable items recently, that was after we weighed the trailer and it was 160kg over the 3500kg maximum.

Of that 270kg, about 60kg will go back in (awning, spare wheels etc etc) but it is surprising how much stuff you collect around you!

Peter


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

listerdiesel said:


> We identified 270kg of removable items recently, that was after we weighed the trailer and it was 160kg over the 3500kg maximum.
> 
> Of that 270kg, about 60kg will go back in (awning, spare wheels etc etc) but it is surprising how much stuff you collect around you!
> 
> Peter


Yes, agree, the spare wheel is a must.
Our van came without one, but I purchased one within the first few days of ownership.


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## goldi (Feb 4, 2009)

Afternoon all,

I wonder what they would say if you dumped 40 gallon of grey waste on the weghbridge when pulled in.   



norm


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

I am surprised at this kind of accuracy in a commercial weighbridge.

20kg is 2% of 1 tonne so it is 0.05% of 40 tonne,

This is amazingly accurate!


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

goldi said:


> Afternoon all,
> 
> I wonder what they would say if you dumped 40 gallon of grey waste on the weghbridge when pulled in.
> 
> norm


You would probably be done for an insecure load :!:

or soiling the environment.

or fly tipping :roll:


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

This company who say they are the sole provider of enforcement weighbridges to the UK Government state that "Our product is also the World's most accurate dynamic weighbridge with two levels of certification, one to within ½% and the other to within ¼%."

http://www.axtec.co.uk/testing.asp

http://www.automotivepr.com/news_de...dge-from-Axtec-helps-keep-tyre-firm-legal-170


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

I think many weigh bridges only measure in 20kg increments.
Certainly the one which we used commercially :!: 
Maybe some newer ones are different.
I am talking about full size weigh bridges.


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## JohnWebb (May 1, 2005)

oldun said:


> Weigh bridges are designed to weigh heavy lorries not light motorhomes.
> 
> I wonder what the maximum error is likely to be on a weighbridge weighing a 3500 kg vehicle?
> 
> Quite high, as a percentage of the payload, I would imagine.


Some years ago I was at a weighbridge in Southampton, now a very grand and expensive head quarters for our cash strapped (?) police. We tried various ways of weighing and I think it was a 100Kg difference if the van was backed on from the exit! Guess which bit of paper I took!


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## organplayer (Jan 1, 2012)

*organplayer*

Does anyone know of any tolerence figure allowed by the "authorities" when weighing vehicles. i.e. what percentage of the vehicle m.a.m. overweight is allowed before any action is taken. N othing to do with this matter, but I remember vehicle speedometers had to be 10per cent plus or minus the speed registered. Hope we are all having a gud day.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: organplayer*



organplayer said:


> Does anyone know of any tolerence figure allowed by the "authorities" when weighing vehicles. i.e. what percentage of the vehicle m.a.m. overweight is allowed before any action is taken. N othing to do with this matter, but I remember vehicle speedometers had to be 10per cent plus or minus the speed registered. Hope we are all having a gud day.


There is no official tolerance :!:


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## emmbeedee (Oct 31, 2008)

oldun said:


> I am surprised at this kind of accuracy in a commercial weighbridge.
> 
> 20kg is 2% of 1 tonne so it is 0.05% of 40 tonne,
> 
> This is amazingly accurate!


Like all weighing machines used for trade purposes, weighbridges have to be regularly tested by your local trading standards department. They have to meet accuracy levels stipulated in the current weights & measures regulations, which are available on line. Accuracy is never stated as a percentage but always by an amount of weight error.
Last time I checked, the permissable error on the least accurate class of 40 ton weighbridge was 10kg. This is checked on all four corners as well as in the middle. So don't try blaming weighbridge error if you are overweight!


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## Annsman (Nov 8, 2007)

I tried to make this point on another thread and got decried for it! Being overweight, vehicle wise, is a serious offence. Unlike the story of the member in France over here VOSA will NOT let you drive on after they have fined you. You will have to remove the excess weight and it is then your responsibility to remove it from their weighbridge. This can mean passengers or load. Nor will they just let you drop any water, fresh or waste, before imposing the penalty. Being overweight will also make your insurance null and void in the event of a crash.

VOSA now get their funding from the fines they collect, so they are quite keen on collecting the cash, as well as the vehicle safety issue. If you are interested, go on the VOSA website and it explains the fine and points on your licence system there.


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

But remember:
Check the Gross Vehicle Weight before setting out, either using your own weighbridge, or one nearby. You are allowed to drive to the nearest available weighbridge to check their load and then go to a place where they can take off some of the load if the vehicle is overloaded.

There are many links on the web that give the same information that "As of early 2010, there is now a simple graduated fixed 
penalty (GFP) system, which targets the driver of a vehicle 
for overloading..."
For vehicles up to 10% overloaded - £60 fine
Vehicles 10 - 15% overloaded - £120 fine
Vehicle over 15% overloaded - £200 fine

In addition, another £ 60 fixed fine and three penalty points 
on the driver's licence can be gained, if VOSA feel the driver 
is using the vehicle in a dangerous condition, which includes 
weight position and distribution of the load".
http://www.redforge.co.uk/downloads/Guide to vehicle weighing.pdf


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