Large vans are one of the most common vehicles on roads today. Indeed, almost every business uses a van for commercial duties of some form or another.

Shockingly, a 2014/15 study by the DVSA, which stopped 10,800 commercial vans for roadside vehicle weight checks, found 89% to be illegally overloaded.

This would suggest that almost 9 in 10 are being driven both unsafe and uninsured. This is because a vehicle's insurance is automatically voided when overloaded. What's more, its stopping distances are increased and its handling capabilities diminished. 

Evidently then, regular vehicle weighing is essential. It is imperative that businesses check the weight of their commercial vans regularly in order to remain compliant. Compliance in this regard will mean not only the avoidance of hefty fines but serious accidents.

Vehicle Weighing Solutions

Whilst you can, legally, drive to a local weighbridge (be it private or public) and pay to have your vehicle weighed for compliance, this is a long-winded and expensive way of operating.

Should your vehicle be weighed and deemed overloaded it should not be driven anywhere. Instead a secondary vehicle must come to remove the load from the vehicle. Failing that the primary vehicle can leave it behind.

Many people believe that a weighbridge is the only method to weigh a large vehicle, but axle weigh pads allow you to do exactly the same thing, on a smaller, more cost effective and portable scale.

Axle weigh pads make it very simple and fast to weigh a vehicle for compliance. They take up minimal space and can be carried in the van for repeated weighing throughout the course of a journey.

Axle pads are small, individual pads which sit under each wheel. Despite their size yet they are still capable of recording the total weight of a vehicle and whether that exceeds weight limits. They often come in pairs and are used by the DVSA (VOSA) and police when pulling over vehicles to check compliance. New wireless axle weigh pads meanwhile have spelt an end to cable damage and boast both an extended battery life. They are the definition of modern vehicle weight scales.

How do you know the limit of your van?

The axle weight limits are listed on the manufacturer’s plate which details everything important about your vehicle, including its overall weight limit and the maximum individual axle weights permitted. This plate will tell you the legal limit of each axle, as well as the overall limit of the vehicle. 

For more information on vehicle overloading read our blog: Vehicle Overloading Explained.

View Our Vehicle Weighing Solutions