Research Shows 50% of UK’s Vans are Overloaded

In recent research carried out by Volkswagen, it was found that over half of the UK’s three million vans regularly exceed their maximum payload. Not only could this cause huge potential problems for the vehicle, but it is illegal as it is considered non-roadworthy and can land the driver with a penalty and a fine to pay.

All vans are rated with a Max GVW (gross vehicle weight) which includes the weight of the van, the driver, any passengers and the cargo it’s carrying. Many drivers don’t factor in all these variables and therefore overload their van accidentally - for example only taking into account the vehicle and cargo weight.

There are huge issues with overloading your van, including the fact that your insurance is potentially invalidated as a result of it. To make matters worse, if you vehicle exceeds 3.5 tonnes and you haven’t got the appropriate licence to operate heavy vehicles then you could be charged with Driving Without a Licence and be subject to a heavy fine.

How to Avoid Overloading

Overloading is an easy issue to fix simply by putting a few measures in place. First of all, know your maximum payload weight - how much cargo - you can put in the van before it achieves Max GVW. Knowing this amount will mean that you no longer have to calculate payload by subtracting kerb weight each time.

Choose the right van for the job - different sized vans have different GVW figure out how heavy the cargo you need to transport it and then pick a vehicle that’s suitable for the job. If you only have the one van available then make several trips and stay within the legal perimeters to save yourself a lot of hassle.