The most common errors lorry drivers and hauliers make — and how to avoid them. Overloaded axle weight insufficient load securing forgotten driver's licence and illegal dimensions are the classic pitfalls.
Introduction
Experience from roadside checks and accidents shows that the same error types recur. Here are the most common — with explanation and advice on how to avoid them.
1. Overloaded axle load
It is possible to be under the permitted total weight and still exceed an axle load, because the cargo is placed too far to the rear or forward. A single axle on a 3-axle vehicle may typically only carry 10,000 kg, but if the whole centre of gravity gathers over that axle, it can easily be overloaded.
- 01Error: load stacked at rear of cargo hold, front axle unloaded and rear axle overloaded.
- 02Solution: use the calculator 'Axle load & load distribution' to check the moment distribution before departure.
- 03Check: axle-weighted scales and bridge scales show per-axle weight
2. Inadequate load securing
Missing or too few lashings are the most common cause of goods sliding during emergency braking or cornering. The faults are typically:
- 01For low µ-assumption: using strap count calculated for dry surface on a sliding steel plate.
- 02Incorrect lashing angle: straps pulled nearly horizontally give very low vertical pre-tension component.
- 03Unapproved straps: straps without EN 12195-2 marking — LC and STF are unknown.
- 04Forgets to re-tension along the way: straps lose tension in the first kilometres.
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