FleetWatch Online - 23-Of Pawns and Kings

Pinning down the numbers – TRAC’s stats man, Hannes van Wyk, reflects on the successes of overload controllers in Mpumalanga since 2001. Forthcoming enhancements to the overload control strategy, he believes will add ‘teeth’ to the existing legislation and infrastructure.

The overloading phenomenon might have something to do with the fact that it's the driver of an overloaded truck rather than the vehicle owner or the consignor who bears the brunt of an overloading bust. Until legislation is passed to bring operators, consignors, and consignees into the culpability loop, hapless drivers will continue to be arrested and dodgy operators will continue to buck the system. For Hannes van Wyk, Services Manager, Trans African Concessions (TRAC), the fight against overloading is like a chess match, where pawns are expendable and kings remain standing. Paul Collings learns how TRAC plays the game.

Maputo is Gauteng's closest port and the two regions are linked by what is known as the N4 Maputo Corridor, a toll road managed by TRAC. "In 2001, the State approached TRAC to develop a strategy and implement technologies to help curb overloaded commercial vehicles. It was decided that to be effective, any load control strategy needed a network across Mpumalanga province," says van Wyk. "Despite the fact that TRAC is responsible for management and maintenance of the N4 between Pretoria and Maputo, SANRAL asked us to manage weighbridges and weigh-in-motion (WIM) devices on alternative routes to bring cohesion to the roll out of the strategy. From the data we gather we can see who the offenders are, what routes they travel and what effect the load control strategy is having at any point in time."

Knight takes pawn
The positive impact of TRAC's overload control strategy is borne out by its statistical information: "In 2002, over 30% of trucks using the N4 were overloaded. Currently, that figure has dropped significantly to between 1% and 2%. Five years ago, only 300 vehicles per year were being weighed. With the implementation of the strategy, we now weigh 20 000 vehicles per month," says van Wyk.

With road damage on the N4 estimated between R100-200 million since 1998, the 'game' TRAC, SANRAL and the DoT 'play' with overloaders is a high-stakes one. "Coal transporters are the biggest offenders and make up a large proportion of the plus-1000 vehicles charged every month. Unfortunately, it's the driver who gets arrested. He's just an expendable pawn in the game the operator plays with overload control. TRAC now operates 17 weighbridges across the province, five of those on the N4, as well as three mobile units, roaming the alternative routes to block illegal loads. They're watching us as closely as we watch them. It's like chess, move for move. We're making steady progress against overloading in general, but some 'kings' are still standing, playing at the cost of the economy and the man in the street," van Wyk says.

Pawn shields king
Toll concessionaires fight a constant battle against negative public perception, specifically because of toll fees charged. TRAC, as part of its initiative to educate the general public about the role it plays in our national logistics infrastructure, opens its weighbridges to the transport industry, offering a free service where operators can utilize TRAC's weighing equipment to perfect their loading techniques, explains van Wyk: "Despite our efforts and improved levels of compliance amongst operators, there is still an element out there that has a 'what can I get away with' culture. TRAC is not in business to prosecute its clients but it's costing the State R3 - 4 million a month to police overloading. Of the R61.4 million in fines issued since 2002, only R13.6 million has been paid. That's an unacceptable 22%. The question now is: what is government going to do to improve its prosecuting process in this regard and how will it treat habitual offenders. Severe action needs to be taken, to the extent where operators' cards are withdrawn."

Checkmate
If one was to bet on who looks set to win this particular game of 'chess', the flow of play looks well in the hands of the authorities. "Initially 80% of all overloaded vehicles were charged on gross mass. This has now been reduced to 20%. This is a positive trend and we hope it continues to improve. Until the proposed legislative changes come into effect, Mpumalanga's 80 dedicated overload control officers will continue to work towards a conclusive 'checkmate' on overloaders," concludes van Wyk.

Scrutinized – TRAC’s Komatipoort Load Control Centre (top) is designed to keep overloaded trucks within its confines until they comply with legal load limits. Using Iveco vans (bottom), equipped with portable weighbridges is another way TRAC polices overloading on alternative routes to the N4 through Mpumalanga. WIM sensors in the road surface trigger a camera (right) that immediately sends a picture of the offending vehicle to the load control centre/weighbridge.