A NEW dedicated crime team are setting their sights on tackling abnormal loads using Staffordshire’s roads.
The Road Crime Unit will be carrying out checks to ensure relevant legislation and safety regulations are being adhered to across the county.
Abnormal loads are those which exceed 44 tonnes of weight, have an axle load above 10 tonnes for a single non-driving axle or 11.5 tonnes for a single driving axle, a width of more than 2.9 metres or a length of more than 18.65 metres.
PC Kiki Pilarcyzk, a dedicated abnormal loads officers in the new Staffordshire Police unit, said:
“While we know that drink and drug driving, speeding, using a phone and not wearing a seatbelt are the main risks associated with serious injury on our roads, we don’t underestimate the impact that abnormal loads have on motorists.
“Failing to comply with legislation and safety regulations when transporting abnormal loads is a serious safety concern for us.
“It puts the driver at risk themselves and can result in significant collateral damage if loads spill into the road or if the load projections come into contact with other road users, particularly on busy carriageways and key routes across the county.
“The legislation and safety guidelines are there for a reason, and we expect heavy haulage companies and their drivers and commuters to adhere to them.”
Loads over a certain weight and size can require planned police escorts in order to minimise disruption – with officers having the power to refuse permission if legislation is not followed or safety checks are failed.
PC Pilarcyzk said:
“We’re regularly carrying out engagement with hauliers at a national level, alongside regular proactive enforcement and vehicle checks across Staffordshire.
“The vast majority of hauliers are reputable operators who are compliant and very keen to co-operate with the police.
“We’ll be working hard to proactively police our road networks as we continue to work daily to ensure motorists on our roads are safe and those putting others at risk are targeted robustly.”
The road crime brigade needs to police the Walsall Road in Lichfield. There is a constant stream of overweight Lorrie’s using it as a short cut from A5 to the A51 out of Lichfield. This damages the road and literally makes it highly dangerous for any cyclist using the red cycle lanes which incidentally should be policed for illegally parked cars.
Just after the roundabout coming from burntwood there’s a sign banning vehicles over 5 tons from Lichfield centre at any time, constantly ignored. One should be placed at the Limburg avenue junction so they can’t miss it! I’m surprised residents haven’t lobbied the council before their road is destroyed.
Pete, the silly thing about the cycle lane on Walsall Road is that it is advisory not mandatory as shown by the broken white lines. The cars are not therefore parked illegally.
The cycle lanes on Walsall Road are also in poor condition. It doesn’t look like they get resurfaced with the rest of the road, encouraging cyclists to cycle on the part of the road meant for vehicles, which they have to anyway to get round the parked cars and through the pedestrian crossings where the cycle lanes just disappear. Totally useless from a cyclist’s perspective, especially as they are advisory, as Raymond Noakes points out, meaning they have no legal effect at all. Yellow lines would have been cheaper to paint and have a greater impact on road safety.