Photo credits @ ITD (illustrative purposes only)

France confronts overloaded trucks and delivery vans. Tests on one of the highways are already underway.

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The French are testing a dynamic weighing system for trucks and vans in the east of the country. The solution will be implemented over time throughout the country.

The Cerema (Centre for Research and Expertise on Risks, Environment, Mobility and Development) is testing an automatic weighing system for trucks and vans on the A4 in Saint-Avold, East of France. In this way, they want to combat the problem of overloading and unfair competition in the transport market. Overloaded trucks and buses increase the risk of accidents and speed up road surface degradation. 

These tests are intended to help with the approval and implementation of the solution throughout France in 2021. It will work in a similar way to speed cameras, explains the French transport portal actu-transport.fr. This is also how the scales implemented in the Czech Republic work.

In the Czech Republic, the system will record the weight of the passing vehicle. Using the camera, it will read the vehicle registration numbers, which will then be compared with the truck’s GVW. This will allow it to determine whether a violation has occurred. If the vehicle is overloaded, the local authorities will initiate appropriate proceedings. The carrier will receive a fine by post.

Current vehicle weighing system

In order to track down overloaded vehicles, between 2008 and 2011 in France 28 scales were installed on the domestic roads. However, these systems require the presence of police or gendarmes, who must stop the overloaded vehicle and verify the weight at the checkpoint. Only then can they issue a fine.

Photo: ITD

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