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If you’re driving a van with a hefty amount of cargo, you need to be aware of the weight limits that are legally in place. You don’t want to be caught out with more weight than you’re allowed! The Vehicle Operator Services Agency and the Police can stop and search your van at any point so it pays to pay attention.
If you’re driving overloaded vans and get caught by the authorities, you’re liable to pay a fine of a fixed fee which is allotted depending on how over the limit your van actually is. You can also be prevented from further driving and, if your van is over the limit by a large amount, you could even be charged with dangerous driving and given a prison sentence. This is why it’s crucial you’re aware of vehicle overloading regulations – we don’t want any of you getting into trouble!
Whether or not your van is over the legal weight limit depends on the van you’re driving. Your van’s kerb weight and gross vehicle weight (GVW) must both be taken into account. Your GVW can usually be found printed directly onto the van, somewhere around the door latch, or in your instruction manual. Your vans kerb weight can also be found in the instruction manual.
The GVW is the maximum weight your vehicle can safely be driven under, whilst the kerb weight is how much your car weighs with a full petrol tank and no extra passengers or cargo. So, to work out your vans limit, subtract the kerb weight from the GVW and there you have it – that’s your weight limit!
There are a number of reasons why overloading your van can become a serious hazard on the road, both to you and other drivers. Too much weight can reduce how well your breaks work, increase your chances of a spinout from oversteering, your suspension won’t be able to handle higher speeds correctly and your tyres will heat up and not sit correctly beneath your van. As you can see, it’s not very safe at all!
Knowing all this now you are ready to go on a hunt for your next van. Check our available stock for many different types of pre-owned commercial vehicles.
Panel vans, minibuses, pick-ups, and tipper vans from the biggest makes are all available at great prices.
If you'd like to test drive one of the used vans for sale, have a look at our website to see what we have for you, and call us at our Essex dealership on 01279 216163. Ask us about our vans on finance and van contract hire offers too.