Abnormal industry heading for greater professionalism

But what are these mammoths of the transport trade? According to Sampie Swanepoel, MD of Transvaal Heavy Transport and abnormal load adviser to the Road Freight Association (RFA), abnormal means the load and the vehicle fall outside the legally permissible parameters of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) and regulations. They fall under the maximum allowable under a permit which is managed and controlled through the TRH11 abnormal load guidelines,” he said. “Load abnormality consists of length, width, height and weight and involves permits in each province, one or two self escorts, provincial escorts, Telkom, Eskom, and the like. “All this, and much more, is part of the day-to-day headaches and frustration that are dealt with in this industry.” The abnormal load sector is a specialised industry, Swanepoel added. “It is specialised in the sense that you must know what to do and what precautions and arrangements must be made for the safety of the public using the same roads on which you transport these abnormal loads to create infrastructure and economy growth.” There’s a skills and experience shortage now in the abnormal road transport sector, according to Swanepoel. “There are not a lot of people left in this industry that really know what it is all about,” he said. “Yes, there are a lot of cowboys – unskilled and untrained people – in this industry. But all they are doing is causing havoc and creating problems for legal operators, as well as putting the public’s safety at risk.” It’s not a poor man’s trade, nor is it one that promises an immediate return on investments. The way Swanepoel sees it, the abnormal industry is one that has always had to battle to survive in the total transport industry. “This,” he told FTW, “is because the equipment we invest in is very expensive, and usually has to obtain principal approval before we can start the manufacturing of lowbeds and the like. This can also take time.” It’s also an industry sector that faces serious governmental restrictions on its allowable operating hours. “The abnormal industry is not allowed to operate every working day of the week,” said Swanepoel, “but is restricted to operating from Mondays to Fridays from sunrise to sunset. No weekends, no public holidays – and also restricted by embargoes which are prescribed by the department of transport (DoT).”