New drive to ease 'abnormal' restrictions

THE ABNORMAL load
division of the Road
Freight Association has
commissioned a traffic
flow survey as a last ditch
effort to convince the
transport authorities to
ease up restrictions on the
movement of abnormal
loads over weekends, public
holidays and at night.
“The embargo days were
set many moons ago,” says
Sampie Swanepoel, who
heads up the division. “We
understand the
need to restrict the
movement of abnormal
loads before public
holidays and school
holidays when traffic is at
its peak, but we believe
they stretch it too far. We
have the greatest respect
for their safety concerns
but these restrictions are
not only hampering our
business, they’re affecting
the economic growth of the
country – particularly with
the 2010 World Cup on the
horizon.”
According to Swanepoel,
some off the provincial
authorities have been very
accommodating.
“In Natal they were
prepared to listen, they
understood our problem,
and relaxed some of the
restrictions – and the same
applies to the Free State
and Mpumalanga.
But the Gauteng
authorities have been
totally intransigent. “All we
asked was to move loads
on the roads up to 3.39
metres wide and 4.69 high
where we don’t
need escorts, but they
were unwilling to accede
to our request.
“That means that we
can use the roads in Natal
but as soon as we reach
the Gauteng border, we’re
stuck.”
Swanepoel believes it
would be in everyone’s
interests if heavy trucks
were taken off the roads
between 07:00 to 09:00
and 16:00 to18:00 during
week days in the main city
centres and allowed to
travel over weekends
and at night.
“We don’t understand
their reasoning, and that’s
what we need to establish.”
Consulting engineering
company Vela VKE has
been commissioned to
undertake the survey
which will be presented
to the Abnormal Load
Technical Committee of
the Department of
Transport.
“Unless we are able
to resolve the impasse,
we will be stuck with
loads in Durban piling up
for Africa at the Gauteng
border,” says Swanepoel.
Apart from the cost
to the economy, there
are significant
additional costs to
the haulage industry.