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29 March 2024

Law to curb excess weight in UAE trucks

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

A regulatory framework monitoring the weight that is carried by trucks on the road in the UAE is under study.

The maximum weight that truckers should be allowed to load on their trucks is currently under discussion by a subcommittee of the Federal Traffic Council.

“When a truck is loaded with a weight too huge, it can damage the road infrastructure,” pointed out Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Head of the Council.

“Furthermore, when an overloaded truck is involved in an accident, it can become a complete chaos.”

Excess weight in trucks is among the most common faults that lead to accidents, pointed out Sultan Al Kutbi, Director of Monitoring and Enforcement of the Licensing Agency at the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA).

When a truck carries too much weight, its ability to manoeuver and make sudden stops is jeopardised and certain parts of the truck can be damaged, such as the brakes and tyres.

“When a law regulating weight is in place, this will be one of the aspects we will be monitoring,” Al Kutbi said elaborating on the renewed efforts that will be taken to increase safety among trucks on the road.

In an effort to curb accidents involving heavy vehicles, each truck or heavy bus will have a smart device or telematics installed in it, which will report any kind of fault directly to the Licensing Agency.

Truck and bus drivers are considered the most dangerous category amongst road users, and traffic accidents involving heavy vehicles often result in considerable number of causalities, the RTA said earlier.