Heavy duty vehicle to pay N10m fine for carrying loads above approved weight

The federal government has devised another way of saving federal roads from untimely collapse after construction.

Every vehicle has manufacturers’ net weight, but findings by government show that nine out of every heavy duty vehicle on the road is overloaded.

Accordingly, the government announced that henceforth, owners, not drivers of overloaded heavy duty vehicle will be fined between N1m to N10m depending on the volume of excess weight limits of impounded vehicles on federal roads.

Government made this clear in an official gazette dated February 6, 2018, entitled: ‘Federal Highways (Control of Dimensions, Weights and Axle Load of Heavy Duty Goods Transport Vehicles) Regulations, 2018’.

A key point of the new regulation showed that a vehicle operator who violates the dimension standards resulting wholly from the vehicle load is liable to a fine of N10m payable at the temporary area or fixed control post.

The gazette, which was put together by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (FMPWH), outlined several regulations to be enforced in the roads transport sector across the country.

The FMPWH stated that the objective of the regulations was to set standards and establish procedures for the control of dimensions, weight and axle load of heavy duty goods transport vehicles plying federal highways and to impose sanctions for non-compliance with those standards.