Operators found violating agreed standards will incur ‘heavy fines’, O’Hara warns
Road Freight New South Wales (RFNSW) is reminding operators to adhere to container weight distribution guidelines and Australian load restraint performance standards to avoid “unnecessary fines”.
NSW operators will be under scrutiny with both Sydney Ports and Roads and Maritime (RMS) planning to investigate axle weight breaches.
There will be “heavy fines” for those found breaching the agreed weight standards and the load restraint guidelines set by the National Transport Commission (NTC), RFNSW warns.
Even weight distribution within the container is a critical issue to ensure road safety, and it is important that local industry customers and overseas agents pack all import containers with precision, RFNSW GM Simon O’Hara says.
“It is the responsibility of everyone to make sure that these requirements are met,” he says.
“Making sure that loads are distributed evenly within containers means that everyone is safer and more efficient.”
RFNSW notes the “agreed procedure for overweight vehicles when weighed:
- “A yellow warning weight breach card is issued by the wharf due to an axle overload and the container will need to go to a CFS (Container Freight Station) Depot. Violating the weight limits will have negative repercussions for trucking operators as the container will be sent to a Public Weigh Bridge and reweighed, which will incur extra charges.
- “A red warning weight breach card is issued by the wharf and the container will be lifted off and will be railed out to Qube Logistics inland depot for unpack which will incur an unknown fee.”