‘Archaic’ requirements push up costs of abnormal load permits

The out-of-date requirement for original abnormal permits to be in the vehicle, and the current demand for a new permit for each load, is unnecessarily pushing up the cost of abnormal road transport, according to Carl Webb, MD of Project Logistics Management and a member of the Road Freight Association (RFA) abnormal loads committee. “This archaic requirement dates back 40 years to 1972,” he told FTW, “and hasn’t been changed in spite of technology advancing to the stage where we have the ability to email documents internationally, never mind locally. “The reasoning behind this is that they reckon that transporters can change the permit if it is not the original. In other words, they are unable to work out a way of policing the matter, so an archaic system is their only option.” Not only that, but in the past transporters were able to have annual abnormal permits (within certain parameters) issued for each vehicle. However, annual abnormal permits have now been discontinued, and each load carried requires another permit. “Transport companies were established under the previous system, where it was relatively easy to provide an economic service to their clients,” Webb added. “But a number of these companies have now closed down – due to the requirement for each load to have an individual permit, and the original permit having to be in the vehicle.” Not only is it timeconsuming to acquire a permit for each load, but it also multiplies the cost to worrying proportions. The cost of abnormal permits for a load between Durban and the Reef amounts to about R 3 500, according to Webb, and you can add to that the cost of getting the original permits to the vehicle. “There are at least 20 abnormal loads per day travelling on this route,” he said. “The costs to the country are therefore about R70 000 per day, or R1.5 million per month.” Webb also noted that the authorities had often compared SA to Australia in terms of development. “But Australia has a modern and progressive outlook regarding abnormal loads where we don’t.” he added. “There you are able to apply for an abnormal permit on-line, pay by credit card, and have the permit forwarded online. They also have an annual abnormal permit system, all resulting in a far more economical transport system in that country.” A new added cost in Kwa-Zulu Natal is that the national provincial authority has recently introduced a new requirement for steerable dolly loads. Under this, each load requires geometric clearances by an engineer – at a cost of about R3 500 per load. “These vehicles have been operating on the routes for the past 50 years without difficulty or incident,” Webb said, “but a clearance costing R3 500 is now required. “The permit authorities do not realise that the more difficult they make it for the industry to comply with, or obtain, abnormal permits, the more likely it is to operate illegally. They have made it easier and cheaper to pay bribes en route than to comply with the legal requirements, a fact that unfortunately influences business decisions.” What he termed “these ridiculous requirements” are unnecessarily increasing the costs for the transport on the projects they are serving, Webb added, a cost that eventually filters through to the public. “President Jacob Zuma recently called for all South Africans to do all possible to reduce costs affecting our daily living costs. Perhaps he could look at this as a prime example.”