KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 2

Traffic police have launched a crackdown on tippers and trucks ferrying goods beyond the permissible limit.

Senior Superintendent of Police Rajendra Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, informed that 75 such tippers and trucks were booked along the Sallaghari-Jagati road section and fined up to Rs 5,000 each under the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 1993 yesterday. According to the act, permissible load limit for 10-wheeler trucks is 15.5 tonnes, for 12-wheeler 21 tonnes and for 14-wheeler 27 tonnes. Likewise, 18-wheelertrucks are permitted to carry load up to 30 tonnes and 22-wheeler 35 tonnes.

SSP Bhatta warned that overloading of freight vehicles had detrimental effects on roads and causes premature surface deterioration which call for early maintenance, overlaying and rehabilitation. Overloading also caused road accidents, leading to loss of lives and properties. Yet another factor in consideration can be the premature aging of vehicles causing financial loss to the truck/tipper owner.

In addition, the fumes of unburned fuel emitted by overloaded trucks pose a grave threat to public health. Overloading may also cause slowing down of vehicles which results in traffic congestion on the roads. As per traffic police, truck and tipper owners tend to ferry goods and construction materials beyond the prescribed to maximise their profits.

Most of the transport vehicles in Nepal are two-axle rigid chassis and constitute about 75 per cent of the total fleet of freight vehicles. Overloading of trucks is a common scene on the roads.

As per traffic police, there are also standards available of size, weight and dimensions of the truck as specified by manufacturers' specification but these are, in general, not largely followed.

Trucks carry loads much in excess of legal limits and are largely responsible for poor road conditions.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 3, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.