Stopped by the police

[Blaydon]

Hi there. We live in Bexley. There is a weigh bridge in Thames Road, Dartford.

 

[Spriddler]

Hi there. We live in Bexley. There is a weigh bridge in Thames Road, Dartford.

Yebbut, TinSte is in Lincoln.

If you Google 'public weighbridges lincoln' you'll find at least 4. Cost varies so give 'em a ring and ask.

 

[Tony50]

PNC would state tax MOT and insurance my guess is if you show your licence and every thing else is good you may not have to go to the local station which is probably shut.

There are 3 Police stations I whole of Suffolk, don't need anymore as Police walk around in couples holding hands no doubt when out of sight

 

[Ro55y]

For all the haters out there, I'm sure even you'll agree that motorhomes, campervans and caravans are highly prized by thieves and thefts will rise given the recent explosion in popularity of our wonderful pastime. I can assure you one thing- the main objective of this particular police operation has less to do with their interest on your vans weight and more to do with catching the motorhome/caravan thieves actually being in POSSESSION of YOUR stolen van.

 

[Tony50]

For all the haters out there, I'm sure even you'll agree that motorhomes, campervans and caravans are highly prized by thieves and thefts will rise given the recent explosion in popularity of our wonderful pastime. I can assure you one thing- the main objective of this particular police operation has less to do with their interest on your vans weight and more to do with catching the motorhome/caravan thieves actually being in POSSESSION of YOUR stolen van.

I'm not sure what you mean by haters or who the haters are , "haters" is a very strong word not be used lightly.

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[Ro55y]

I'm not sure what you mean by haters or who the haters are , "haters" is a very strong word not be used lightly.

Fair point Tony

 

[Plumberz]

I agree about checking over weighted vehicles but when my elderly mum was burgled they didnt even attend just got crime number saying your insurance will need this.

 

[TonyEmm]

I follow quite a few police Facebook groups and this update popped up the other day

If that’s the group I think it is, It‘s got nothing to do with DVSA, DVLA, POLICE or any other enforcement agency, it’s a large group of, mainly, lorry drivers advising others on the whereabouts of DVSA/POLICE activity so they can avoid the area!

 

[Louis]

Pol

Is that normal for Police? when I was recently stopped in a lorry it was Vosa.

ice once stopped me on the M5

 

[TonyEmm]

This is probably not where I should be asking this but (newbie here looking for first MH) but if I buy one which is say 3.5, surely as soon as I put some stuff in it, it’s going to be over that limit?
Very confused

This might help clear up some confusion! https://spinner28.wixsite.com/tonys-towing-trivia/post/weights-vin-plates

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[Rimswell Wanderer]

I am all for roadside and document checks, vehicles are built with safety in mind and that includes weight distribution for the simple reason that incorrectly loaded vehicles will affect stability that’s why correct loading is as important as overloading I have been behind vehicles not just Motorhomes that where unstable because of incorrect loading and sometimes resting on the axle bump stops One thing I learned pretty quickly is some MH’s like mine has a fairly large overhang behind the rear axle others may have a garage with a large overhang they can easily be loaded incorrectly as I am sure most of us know. The comments that the Police Should be catching burglars and other crimes rather than the motorist is unfair, in my case a very good friend lost their life when an overloaded van hit him because it couldn’t stop in time. For the record I am not and have never been a policeman but I realise they cannot be in two places at once.

 

[TonyEmm]

I am all for roadside and document checks, vehicles are built with safety in mind and that includes weight distribution for the simple reason that incorrectly loaded vehicles will affect stability that’s why correct loading is as important as overloading I have been behind vehicles not just Motorhomes that where unstable because of incorrect loading and sometimes resting on the axle bump stops One thing I learned pretty quickly is some MH’s like mine has a fairly large overhang behind the rear axle others may have a garage with a large overhang they can easily be loaded incorrectly as I am sure most of us know. The comments that the Police Should be catching burglars and other crimes rather than the motorist is unfair, in my case a very good friend lost their life when an overloaded van hit him because it couldn’t stop in time. For the record I am not and have never been a policeman but I realise they cannot be in two places at once.

For this that say “Police Should be catching burglars and other crimes rather than the motorist” are just showing their ignorance! As some others have said the RPU’s would not attend non vehicle related crime any more than a beat copper would be pulling overweight vehicles or whatever.

When I did vehicle/trailer checks with VOSA back in the day, virtually all enforcement agencies were present, including HMRC and Immigration..

All were kept busy!!

 

[Neil S]

I'm all for more rigorous enforcement of vehicle weights including motorhomes and especially car and caravan combinations .

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

A few years ago I did the groundwork’s to a new building for the VOSA inspection depot near Leatherhead.
They have a locked compound where any vehicle found to be dangerous is kept until it is fixed and legal for our roads.
Surprised at the amount of foreign lorries kept there

It amazes me why anyone would question being pulled over for a routine check!!
They would be the same people whining to the police if their families got killed in a rta by an unsafe vehicle driving about.

 

[Mikecarruthers]

Pro- active policing nice to hear about.

Is it not illegal to run overweight with your vehicle is it not a crime just the same as burglary the rules are there clearly for all to see if you don’t know the weight of your motorhome get it weighed with everything you normally have on board any class 7 test station can weigh front and rear individually and overall public weigh bridges can tell you then you won’t have a problem

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[VXman]

I'm not sure what you mean by haters or who the haters are , "haters" is a very strong word not be used lightly.

An annoying 'social media' phrase.

 

[VXman]

The comments that the Police Should be catching burglars and other crimes rather than the motorist is unfair, in my case a very good friend lost their life when an overloaded van hit him because it couldn’t stop in time. For the record I am not and have never been a policeman but I realise they cannot be in two places at once.

Possibly but there does seem to be more willingness to catch and prosecute motorists as they are easy cases to deal with - particularly generally law abiding ones who are registered, taxed and insured.

I have been prosecuted to driving a few miles an hour over the limit a few times however, when my car was maliciously vandalised requiring £4000 of work the police just were not interested. Same when we had an attempted break in. I recently reported the kids who are riding unregistered motorbikes with no insurance/helmets etc on the pavements and footpaths in residential areas. They said there is nothing they can do - too difficult to catch them!!!

Generally I haven't seen a policeman in years - other than waiting on the side of a road with a speed camera.

 

[mtcbfs]

You are absolutely right except in the case of some PVCs , and I presume others but I only know about PVCs, to up-plate to 4250 it’s purely a paper exercise. So one day my van is safe at 3500 and then the next day it’s safe with 750kg more stuff in it just because of a bit of paper. Some rules are silly but I am very law abiding and stick to them.

You also need a C1 to drive this new weight, it's not all about the vehicle.

 

[Loftyjeff]

Good to see the boys and girls in blue not wasting time and energy on assaults, burglaries, petty theft and making their presence felt in our towns and villages.

More on the beat would be a good thing

 

[Loftyjeff]

Well if I’m ever burgled and there’s no coppers to attend to investigate then I’ll be content in the knowledge that they are weighing motorhomes somewhere .
A pathetic waste of scarce resources.

Totally agree paddy more on beat less in cars

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[TonyEmm]

I'm all for more rigorous enforcement of vehicle weights including motorhomes and especially car and caravan combinations .

TBH, car/caravan combinations weren’t too much of an issue on roadside checks I did (other than nosewight), and the travelling community (who weren’t towing with cars anyway).
The biggest problems were with other CatO2 trailers….


A month ago, I was at the Farmer’s/agricultural auction at Bicker, A17/A52 junction, https://www.willbarker.co.uk/.../July-Bicker-Auction...
A walk around the trailer car park revealed 77 trailers in total, 48 of which had either no breakaway cable or it was incorrectly deployed. 2 had no handbrake assembly, 2 had the brake linkages disconnected, and this is on trailers up to 3,500kgs MGW. Others had axle grease caps missing, perished/worn tyres and towing vehicles with illegal number plates. I never got round to checking for lights!

.

Doesn’t sound like much has changed since my day!

 

[Yorick]

Good to see the boys and girls in blue not wasting time and energy on assaults, burglaries, petty theft and making their presence felt in our towns and villages.

Wow. Only tool a few minutes to attract that obvious response

 

[Yorick]

A few years ago I did the groundwork’s to a new building for the VOSA inspection depot near Leatherhead.
They have a locked compound where any vehicle found to be dangerous is kept until it is fixed and legal for our roads.
Surprised at the amount of foreign lorries kept there

It amazes me why anyone would question being pulled over for a routine check!!
They would be the same people whining to the police if their families got killed in a rta by an unsafe vehicle driving about.

Some folk just like to moan

 

[Daveymac]

Which documents did you have checked? I didn't know we were required to carry any.

all your Docs are available on PNC

 

[Nanniemate]

all your Docs are available on PNC

We are not yet but if you can confirm at scence no need to produce at the police station.

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[Yorick]

My dad was an arrogant tosser and was always slagging off the police. About 15 years ago he was stopped for speeding and went straight into the "why aren't you out catching proper criminals" routine. Well, the cops went over his car with a fine tooth comb and found plenty wrong. So it seems they were out catching proper criminals

 

[Haig]

Stopped at 2-00am in my car towing a mini digger coming back from a night job, they kept me for 10-15 minutes while checking and when they left I said thank you very much.
Having had 4 excavators stolen over the years and not recovering any despite 3 having Trackers fitted I’m glad they are doing something and would have no issues with being stopped and checked.

Stopped and checked for documents etc. is one thing. Getting taken to a service station to be weighed is another! Surely the Police have bigger priorities ?

 

[Haig]

I wonder just how many accidents or injuries are caused by overweight motorhomes.

Yes good point are there any statistics on what the Police are basing their risk on.

 

[bigtwin]

Surely the Police have bigger priorities ?

There are always cries of ‘go and catch people breaking other laws rather than the ones I’m breaking’

Ian

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Getting taken to a service station to be weighed is another! Surely the Police have bigger priorities ?

If you family got killed in a crash involving an overweight vehicle you would no doubt be the first to go crying to the police about why they are not checking vehicles on the road!!
It’s a minor 10-15 minute inconvenience that saves lives.

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