Police checking motorhomes and caravans on M5

[headlight]

 

[Wh05apk]

Good!

About time.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Not surprised.
It is the start of most of the UK's school holidays after all, on a major road network leading to some very popular holiday destinations.
How about now looking at all the illegal and overweight car transporter vehicles being towed by a standard SUV.
I have recently become an owner of a VW campervan having sold our motorhome to downsize.
Went on a few dedicated VW forums on line, and to say that many did not know about loading correctly or payload usage would be an understatement.
Absolutely shocking.

 

[stewartwebr]

I think once the penny drops how many are overloaded and the potential cash cow this could create we shall see more of these checks. I may sound cynical and I am in no way advocating driving with an overweight vehicle, but these days it has very little to do with safety and more to do with revenue collection. It gets my why they can call speed camera vans “safety units” if they had anything to do with safety they would scream at you and force you to slow down and make your journey safer. Sending you a fine through the post 10 days later has done nothing to promote your safety. They are revenue generators and nothing more, just another form of tax.

 

[Spriddler]

I suspect it's part of the NHS initiative to reduce obesity .


Added afterthought......

Sending you a fine through the post 10 days later has done nothing to promote your safety.

It's more a case of protecting others from your irresponsible attitude.

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[Two on Tour]

Looks like the DVSA are using motorhomes themselves, going by the yellow and black decals on the motorhomes on the left of the photo.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I think once the penny drops how many are overloaded and the potential cash cow this could create we shall see more of these checks. I may sound cynical and I am in no way advocating driving with an overweight vehicle, but these days it has very little to do with safety and more to do with revenue collection. It gets my why they can call speed camera vans “safety units” if they had anything to do with safety they would scream at you and force you to slow down and make your journey safer. Sending you a fine through the post 10 days later has done nothing to promote your safety. They are revenue generators and nothing more, just another form of tax.

So a vehicle rated at 3000kg max gvw, loaded at 4000kg is OK then.
The braking distance required alone is enough to make you think if seriously overloaded, let alone make the vehicle less stable.
I think this sort of check is long overdue in some sense, and will get people educated to understand exactly what they can and should do regarding weight restrictions, and realise they can't take everything including the portable jacuzzi away with them.
Just my opinion though,ta.

 

[hja]

Isn’t there a thread on here somewhere about “have you ever been stopped and weighed”? So now we know it does happen. Actually haven’t they done caravan checks before on the M5 but a bit further north?

 

[headlight]

Isn’t there a thread on here somewhere about “have you ever been stopped and weighed”? So now we know it does happen. Actually haven’t they done caravan checks before on the M5 but a bit further north?

That's why I made the post

 

[Carpmart]

Looks like the DVSA are using motorhomes themselves, going by the yellow and black decals on the motorhomes on the left of the photo.

They are ambulances to cater for those so shocked at actually talking to a police or DVSA man/woman in person.

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[Pausim]

Isn’t there a thread on here somewhere about “have you ever been stopped and weighed”? So now we know it does happen. Actually haven’t they done caravan checks before on the M5 but a bit further north?

They have also done them on the A303 in the past.

 

[headlight]

"and realise they can't take everything including the portable jacuzzi away with them"

Only if they have sufficient lithium, solar and a big enough inverter

 

[WESTY66]

They should be doing it all the time, treat em the same as hgvs
If they’re over weight by more that 5% (yes I know the legal stance is 0%) and if they can’t get underweight by dropping the FRESH water park em up till someone comes to get some of the weight of em
Ignorance is NO excuse

Incoming

 

[DerryW]

I think once the penny drops how many are overloaded and the potential cash cow this could create we shall see more of these checks. I may sound cynical and I am in no way advocating driving with an overweight vehicle, but these days it has very little to do with safety and more to do with revenue collection. It gets my why they can call speed camera vans “safety units” if they had anything to do with safety they would scream at you and force you to slow down and make your journey safer. Sending you a fine through the post 10 days later has done nothing to promote your safety. They are revenue generators and nothing more, just another form of tax.

That’s been the case for many years. Just like all the clean air zones, absolutely nothing to do with climate, if they were they would ban polluting vehicles from such zones full stop.

 

[Orion]

Isn’t there a thread on here somewhere about “have you ever been stopped and weighed”? So now we know it does happen. Actually haven’t they done caravan checks before on the M5 but a bit further north?

Yes, that’s the DVSA weighbridge and inspection site at Sampford Peverell on the A361 at J27 of the M5, which has now sprung into life as well.

Quite a few HGVs and Transit sized vans in there when I went past 4 times yesterday, but no mohos or caravans that Zi could see.

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[Spriddler]

I don't go past very frequently but I've seen weight checks being carried out at the DVSA vehicle inspection site on the A23 here..........

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

I don't go past very frequently but I've seen weight checks being carried out at the DVSA vehicle inspection site on the A23 here..........

View attachment 928535

Years ago a mate of mine had a trip up thereone of his blokes rang him and said the pickup was overloaded and he needed another one to come and take some weight off
Did a refurb to the one VOSA on the M25 Leatherhead and that one was busy all day with the locked compound nearly full all the time

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

So a vehicle rated at 3000kg max gvw, loaded at 4000kg is OK then.
The braking distance required alone is enough to make you think if seriously overloaded, let alone make the vehicle less stable.

Obviously it’s not ok, no argument there. That said, are some of these vans not built on base vehicles which were initially designed/specced to run at higher weights? Hence why many can be uprated to some degree via nothing but a paper exercise?

 

[MisterB]

i am not advocating anyone should travel overweight, in fact i often tell my mother in law she cant come with us until she goes on a diet ......


seriously though, its strange to me, that some vehicles can be uprated purely as a paper exercise, yet could potentially be issued with a fine for being overladen .....

i would also add, that if the exercise really was about targeting motorhome or caravan safety, wouldnt it have been also of some benefit to publicise the campaign widely, throughout the UK camping magazines, clubs etc that way those who ignore the limits might have been 'persuaded' to stick to them, which is the desired outcome isnt it? i know not everyone is a member of a forum, club etc but even the sites they are booked on could have been asked to email all those who have booked. There's more than one way of killing a chicken, other than by sticking a strawberry up its ar*e as my old boss used to say.

 

[Orion]

I think once the penny drops how many are overloaded and the potential cash cow this could create we shall see more of these checks. I may sound cynical and I am in no way advocating driving with an overweight vehicle, but these days it has very little to do with safety and more to do with revenue collection. It gets my why they can call speed camera vans “safety units” if they had anything to do with safety they would scream at you and force you to slow down and make your journey safer. Sending you a fine through the post 10 days later has done nothing to promote your safety. They are revenue generators and nothing more, just another form of tax.

Perhaps you’re not aware of the sadly inevitable and regular accidents, overturned caravans, etc that happen during the holiday periods down here on the A38, A361, and A30?

I’ve seen too many families with their P&J scattered over the hard shoulder, not to mention the major disruption to other road users, to equate it to the speed cameras. If these operations prevent even one of those occurring then the authorities can crack on with them.

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[nicholsong]

Will they have a DVLA Manager in attendance to explain to the Police why there are discrepancies on V5c forms?

 

[Orion]

Obviously it’s not ok, no argument there. That said, are some of these vans not built on base vehicles which were initially designed/specced to run at higher weights? Hence why many can be uprated to some degree via nothing but a paper exercise?

Probably to some extent down to the manufacturer wishing to make the vehicle available to a larger market with driving licence restrictions to 3500kg.

Our Adria is, as standard, a 3500kg vehicle but the original Fiat plate is 3650kg, which can be specced as a ‘no cost’ option for those with C1. It can then be up plated to 3850kg with no modification or 4250kg with rear air.

So, yes one vehicle may be capable of safely being loaded above the plated weight, but how many are not?

 

[Jim]

At voluntary, confidential, weigh-in of Funsters at Peterborough a few years ago, we found about 30% to be overloaded, 10% of those were seriously overloading rear axles. Almost every van that was overweight was plated at 3.5t

 

[PP Bear]

Wonder how many were found to be illegal, by weight or otherwise and what they then did with the extra weight.

Hopefully a skip provided for getting shot of anything, or it’d end up in the hedges

Maybe just a dumping of water

 

[DandJ]

Perhaps their bigger concern was 'roadworthy condition'...so potentially tyres (and brakes)...the once a year trip with your caravan on 12 yr old "Wankang Ditchfinder" tyres. Should I swap my 10 yr old tyres? crops up on here fairly regularly.
Weightwise...I'm still staggered that people will pay tens of thousands on a motorhome/campervan but baulk at paying a tenner (and maybe a 50 mile round trip) to get it weighed to have a starting point. (As others have suggested in the past, perhaps all motorhomes sold by a trader should have a recent weight 'certificate' ?)

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[nicholsong]

Should the BBC be publishing this at 0922 on Sat morning, giving drivers ample warning to be able to avoid that stretch of M/way.

Does then the publication amount to obstructing the police?

Even though I check our weight before a trip I would avoid the police/DVSA stop just to save the time and inconvenience.

 

[DerryW]

At voluntary, confidential, a weigh-in of Funsters at Peterborough a few years ago, we found about 30% to be overloaded, 10% of those were seriously overloading rear axles. Almost every van that was overweight was plated at 3.5t

Deleted

 

[headlight]

Should the BBC be publishing this at 0922 on Sat morning, giving drivers ample warning to be able to avoid that stretch of M/way.

Does then the publication amount to obstructing the police?

Even though I check our weight before a trip I would avoid the police/DVSA stop just to save the time and inconvenience.

The checks were yesterday the 26th I thought ?

 

[DandJ]

The checks were yesterday the 26th I thought ?

Bloody BBC, can't even obstruct the Police properly...don't know why I pay my licence fee....

 

[enark]

Good advert for the services of VWE and SV tech?