Has anyone been stopped for van being over weight

[chaser]

sorry to start another thread on this as there are a few going right now , but thought this might get overlooked if put in one of those.
Has anyone on here ever been stopped by vosa or there counterparts in Europe and been found to be overweight, if so what happened?

 

[Snowbird]

Pulled onto the M6 weighbridge at Stafford once in an American RV and weighed. Both axles good and gross OK, allowed to proceed. Pulled just south of Bordeaux in an RV pulling a large car trailer and measured for length and fined for being over length then allowed to proceed.

 

[big map]

@Snowbird im interested in what they considered over length?

 

[andy63]

Pulled just south of Bordeaux in an RV pulling a large car trailer and measured for length and fined for being over length then allowed to proceed.

I'm sure you were happy at been allowed to proceed, but is the norm that you are prevented from doing so until the fault is put right....
Andy...

 

[chaser]

Pulled onto the M6 weighbridge at Stafford once in an American RV and weighed. Both axles good and gross OK, allowed to proceed. Pulled just south of Bordeaux in an RV pulling a large car trailer and measured for length and fined for being over length then allowed to proceed.

It's a wonder they weren't waiting for you further on and do you again

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[Kingham]

I'm sure you were happy at been allowed to proceed, but is the norm that you are prevented from doing so until the fault is put right....
Andy...

That would make sense to me Andy, as once they've allowed you to proceed they then become complicit in a continuation of the same offence that they've just fined you for !?!?

 

[Kingham]

sorry to start another thread on this as there are a few going right now , but thought this might get overlooked if put in one of those.
Has anyone on here ever been stopped by vosa or there counterparts in Europe and been found to be overweight, if so what happened?

Never !..... and long may it continue

 

[Snowbird]

@Snowbird im interested in what they considered over length?

To be honest, am not quite sure. They were more concerned that I did not have long vehicle plates and am almost sure the "fine" was more of a back hander. I did used to run a bit close to the limits as the photo below will prove.

 

[Snowbird]

That would make sense to me Andy, as once they've allowed you to proceed they then become complicit in a continuation of the same offence that they've just fined you for !?!?

French police are not stupid. They quite probably realised that if they were to stop me travelling any further I would become more of a nuisance than letting me proceed. I had food and a bed with all conveniences and was in no hurry to go anywhere at the time.

 

[MR. FUSION]

No I haven't but I have seen plenty of mobile weighing devices around Europe, on the northern Swedish/Finnish border for example. Who would have thought you would get weighed up there ?

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[Snowbird]

That would make sense to me Andy, as once they've allowed you to proceed they then become complicit in a continuation of the same offence that they've just fined you for !?!?

Also what many do not realise is that once you have been impounded at the side of the road your safety and security becomes the responsibility of those that have impounded you. French police do not want to stand guard over a motorhome for very long and soon relent to letting you on your way once they realise you are not intimidated by them. This has been proven many times over my years driving trucks around Europe. I hasten to add, this is not an excuse to break the law.

 

[Franck]

The problem with being overweight is that it will invalidate your insurance so in the event of an accident the insurance company will not pay up.

.

 

[spitfire]

Saw the police pulling large vehicles near the turning to Silves in Portugal and using mobile weighing pads . That was about 2 weeks ago .

 

[martin2603]

Maximum length UK trailer combination 18.75 meters Europe 20.50 meters

 

[suavecarve]

So one person in this country on one occasion so far !

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[Billy23]

So one person in this country on one occasion so far !

Well dont travel with him then

 

[RidersofRohan]

Interesting thread. Even more so when compared to the other thread where someone had a refund on a new purchase that had 62kg payload. The conclusion from that thread was that there are many more like that on the roads with unwitting owners driving around over weight.

 

[PORKSTER]

Have been pulled 3 times in this country was just under though dosnt help living near the local weighbridge

 

[Kingham]

French police are not stupid. They quite probably realised that if they were to stop me travelling any further I would become more of a nuisance than letting me proceed. I had food and a bed with all conveniences and was in no hurry to go anywhere at the time.

I can't comment on how stupid they may or not be, but I do have a view on the stupidity of their actions. When they officially fined you it could only have been on safety grounds, on the basis that you were over length.
By allowing you to continue, if and I hasten to add, in the unlikely event that you then went on and hurt someone because of your "illegal" outfit, they become partly responsible for that injury.

They had a responsibility to both you and other road users, not to let you continue breaking the law, which brings me back to not commenting on their stupidity, or otherwise.

If you were in fact not over length and they corruptly fined you and pocketed the money, then that is another matter entirely

 

[Gellyneck]

To be honest, am not quite sure. They were more concerned that I did not have long vehicle plates and am almost sure the "fine" was more of a back hander. I did used to run a bit close to the limits as the photo below will prove.View attachment 150768

Maybe the fine was for not displaying a "Long Vehicle" sign rather than being over length? And as you say they needed funds for their upcoming Policeman's Ball!

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[Kingham]

Also what many do not realise is that once you have been impounded at the side of the road your safety and security becomes the responsibility of those that have impounded you. French police do not want to stand guard over a motorhome for very long and soon relent to letting you on your way once they realise you are not intimidated by them. This has been proven many times over my years driving trucks around Europe. I hasten to add, this is not an excuse to break the law.

They must operate a different system to the UK, where in such an example, your motorhome does not automatically become the responsibility of the police. A prohibition order would be put on it, either by the police themselves, or VOSA and if necessary, the vehicle clamped, or otherwise immobilised, until the illegality was resolved.
Obviously they wouldn't leave you in the middle of a busy motorway, but could escort you in to a nearby service area, or other safe place, before the prohibition would take effect.

 

[Snowbird]

Maybe the fine was for not displaying a "Long Vehicle" sign rather than being over length? And as you say they needed funds for their upcoming Policeman's Ball!

Years ago, it was always "coffee" pleas driver .

 

[busby]

The problem with being overweight is that it will invalidate your insurance so in the event of an accident the insurance company will not pay up.

.

And also in UK you will not be allowed to proceed until vehicle is legal..BUSBY.

 

[chaser]

I know it hasn't been going long , but the outcome seems to be no one then

 

[Gellyneck]

Years ago, it was always "coffee" pleas driver .

And I bet you didnae tell them tae get their feet off the couch when they were drinking it, either!

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[MC 55 FUN]

I know it hasn't been going long , but the outcome seems to be no one then

In the other thread . . WEIGHT . . PhilG claims to have been stopped & fined for being 400kg overweight . . . post #241

 

[Lenny HB]

I really don't see the point of this thread, if you are overweight it is illegal - end of story.

We found we were running 50-100kg over with full tanks so we upgraded, the sensible thing to do.

 

[two]

The OP has a point. Although it's possible, it's rare in practice. A bit like gas attacks?

 

[Eddystone]

But upgrading isn't an option for everyone whether it be licence type or practicalities of use or storage.

 

[mitzimad]

in my case its neither licence or practicalities if i up plate i become illegal in london due to the lez same vehicle same city but to old for a higher weight

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