Axle mass reduction looks unlikely

While the Road Freight
Association (RFA)
continues to engage with
consultants appointed
by the Department of
Transport (DoT) about
its intention to reduce the
permissible single rear axle
mass for freight vehicles
from the current 9 tons to
8 tons, the battle is just
about over.
According to RFA
spokesman Gavin Kelly,
the matter is not the
major issue it was some
months ago.
“I think everyone is
in agreement that this
proposal is not going to
see implementation in the
near future. We know that
the consultants appointed
by the DoT have done
a baseline study on the
proposal and that has been
forwarded to the DoT for
a conclusion on the axle
mass debate. We don’t
foresee the current tonnage
being changed though.”
He said while the debate
had been highly emotive
and led to a huge industry
outcry, it had highlighted
an important issue.
“This entire saga has
raised the important issue
of the condition of our
roads and brought focus
on why our roads are in
the current condition.
Maintenance of roads has
become the focus and that
is something that must be
addressed. If this is what
has been achieved by the
axle mass proposal, then
something positive has
come out of it.”
Kelly said there was no
doubt that South Africa’s
rural roads were not built
to take axle loads of nine
tons. “If they can handle
six tons, we are lucky.
This is something that
must be addressed by the
DoT and our industry.
Another important
outcome has been the
realisation of the lack
of an effective policing
system for those operators
who are not sticking to
the rules and are moving
extremely heavy loads onto
secondary roads to avoid
weigh bridges for instance.
We need to find a way of
dealing with the problem
children in our industry.”
But, said Kelly, bringing
to the forefront the fact
that trucks are not to blame
for the state of the roads,
but rather the lack of
maintenance has been an
extremely positive outcome
for the industry.
“The infrastructure itself
is a problem along with the
maintenance of it and
that is something the
DoT cannot ignore for
much longer.”