New EU directive targets road haulage overloading

On May 7 a new European

Union directive, EU2015/719,

became effective forcing all

shippers to declare the weight

of their cargo to hauliers

transporting goods in Europe.

According to a spokesman

from the International

Federation of Freight

Forwarders Associations

(Fiata), the intention of the new

legislation is to address cargo

weight on roads. It follows

the implementation of the

Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

amendment of the Safety of

Life at Sea (Solas) regulations

that came into effect in July

last year that require each and

every container to be weighed

and verified before being loaded

onto a vessel.

Solas, however, only

addresses the sea component

and the new regulation now

extends to road as well.

According to Peter Lamb,

director at Norton Rose

Fulbright, South African

shippers are already legally

obliged to provide the weight

of cargo transported via road

under the consignee/consignor

legislation.

“Our legislation requires

consignors to obtain a written

submission from the operator

as to the payload of the vehicle

and the distribution of the load

and have in place a method

of determining the mass of

the vehicle and any axle or

axle unit – as well as keep a

record of the mass of every

load transported from their

premises,” he said.

According to Mike

Walwyn of the South African

Association of Freight

Forwarders (Saaff), there is

no need to introduce further

legislation in South Africa to

weigh containers as the system

as it stands has adequate

control measures in place.

“Also, some 80% of our

exports are being declared

under method 1 of Solas

requirements where there can

be no arguments as to the

actual weight,” he said.

This is in contrast to Europe

where the introduction of

VGM helped establish that

trucks were breaching weight

limit laws in delivering boxes

to port terminals.

“In Europe, for the majority

of exports, VGM is declared

based on method 2. There

have been some doubts

expressed over the accuracy of

the VGM declarations and so

one can understand why the

European authorities may be

trying to tighten it up,” said

Walwyn.

Also containers for VGM are

predominantly weighed at the

port. While any overloading

picked up here is addressed for

the sea voyage it does mean the

container was in all probability

overloaded while on the road.

The new legislation will

require shippers to give

hauliers a statement indicating

the weight of the cargo and the

container.

Lamb said legislation

addressing the weight of cargo

on road in South Africa has

been effective since February

2015.