Shippers using high cube containers continue to do so, with the authorities turning a blind eye to a clear infringement of Regulation 224 (b) of the National Road Traffic Act 1996.The legislation sets the maximum legal height for vehicles without abnormal permits in South Africa at 4.3m.The problem is that when ISO high-cube containers are transported on 1.6m deck height trailers, the overall height is approximately 4.5m, which is just 20cm over the legislated limit.The rule is waived for vehicles such as double-decker buses and car carriers, which are allowed up to 4.6m under certain conditions.There was no response at the time of writing to a written request for an update on the implementation or scrapping of the legislation sent to the Department of Transport (DoT) by Freight News.The industry has been pressing for the regulation 224(b) to be amended since the Act was passed.In 2011, the DoT exempted vehicles transporting ISO high cube containers from prosecution under the regulation. Initially set for seven years, the moratorium has been extended numerous times while the industry and government continue to negotiate.This followed disruptions in the Port of Durban between September and December 2009, when the KwaZulu-Natal road traffic authorities detained and confiscated f lat deck trailers carrying high cube containers. Hauliers stopped picking up high cubes in the port until the DoT intervened by issuing abnormal load permits for high cube containers.In March 2023, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga issued a government gazette notice instructing provincial traffic authorities not to prosecute hauliers carrying high cube containers, and the matter remains unresolved.A 2020 study by logistics and engineering academics TM Adams, LL Goedhals-Gerber and J Van Eeden found that the 40-foot ISO container height of 2.9m for a high cube container is an international standard, and is “mostly preferred by shipping lines, international customers, and freight owners”. “Most new containers of 20-foot and 40-foot lengths are manufactured at the high cube height, replacing the old ‘normal’ height containers of 2.6m.”The stand-off, according to the researchers, is that government believes the industry should have invested in trailers with lower profiles to avoid bumping into bridges and to ensure st abilit y.In 2020, a new lower-profile trailer would have cost R300 000. In response, the industry has challenged government to show that nearly 30 years of data prove that high cube containers cannot fit under bridges, and that they fall over. ER
