Safe Speed Forums

Lorries banned from minor roads

Lorries face a fine if they break the weight restrictions
Leicestershire has become the first county in England to ban heavy lorries from all minor roads.
Drivers are being warned they face a fixed-penalty fine if they break the 7.5-tonne limit on non-A or B roads.

Officials said mobile camera units would monitor lorries and they expected to spend £60,000 a year on police enforcement of the weight restrictions.

The ban, aimed at cutting the county's road repair bill, has gradually come into force over several years.

Councillor Nicholas Ruston of Leicestershire County Council said: "We started in the early 1990s and have been rolling it out for more than 10 years and it has cost nearly £2m.

Satellite navigation

"The truck drivers are being told we have a blanket weight restriction across the county - it is available on the website and available on map and on satellite navigation - stick to the rules we want to help you."

A number of B roads in west Leicestershire have been downgraded under the scheme.

New signs advising of the restrictions are in place.

So how exactly is farm produce such as cattle or sheep going to market/slaughter, arable crops such as grain or potatoes, or even milk going to be transported?

Are they REALLY as barking mad as they appear? Or have they thought of these basics and covered then somehow? For example with an 'except for access' exemption?

Getting heavy with lorries
The first project in the country aimed at improving the environment for residents by making sure lorries travel on suitable roads has been completed in Leicestershire.

The County Council’s lorry control strategy is now complete and has brought in 7½ tonne weight restrictions in many parts of Leicestershire to concentrate through traffic on the major roads rather than via villages and unsuitable areas.

Leicestershire leads the way in this field and rather than looking at weight restrictions in a piecemeal fashion, the County Council decided in the early 1990s to select a network of routes for through movements and restrict other roads to lorries that were delivering locally.

Since then, a series of weight restrictions has been introduced across the County with the final one being implemented in Bottesford in March.
The County Council has kept all A and B roads available for all traffic but has restricted other roads in rural areas where possible. This meant that a number of B roads in the west of Leicestershire were downgraded.

Improved signing advising of the restrictions has also been put up across the County to help lorries keep on appropriate routes.

Arrangements have been made with the police to make sure that the bans are enforced. The police have been using modern camera technology to help track down and pursue offenders.

Nicholas Rushton, the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, said: “This project has environmental benefits for Leicestershire residents and helps to reduce the cost of maintaining and repairing minor rural roads.

“We are also working with satellite navigation system suppliers to ensure that lorry drivers are provided with high quality information about the restrictions.”

Inspector Rod Hockin of Leicestershire Constabulary’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition department, said: “We are working closely with the County Council to ensure that we target the areas of Leicestershire where breaches of the regulations are taking place. Not only do these vehicles cause damage to the road surface by continual use but they have a major impact on peoples quality of life. We want to work with local communities and road hauliers to provide safer communities for all.”

A dedicated e-mail address has been set up for members of the public to report problems: weight.restricted@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk

Alternatively, people can report concerns via Leicestershire Constabulary’s non-emergency telephone number - Leicester (0116) 222 2222.

Notes for Editors:
1.The last weight restriction, north of Bottesford, came into force on 29th March.
2.Previously, enforcement was undertaken by the County Council’s Trading Standards service. They took reports from the public, obtained owner details from DVLA and contacted operators. From time to time they have had assistance from the police in undertaking site checks. Trading Standards do not have the power to stop vehicles; they cannot get instant replies from DVLA and they cannot issue on the spot fines.
3.A sum of £60,000 has been included in the County Council’s budget to pay for the police to enforce the County’s weight restriction orders.
4.This does not relate to overweight lorries – this continues to be dealt with jointly by Trading Standards and the police
5.The limits also apply to empty lorries if the lorry plus load can legally exceed 7½ Tonnes

Photo Opportunity:
To celebrate the project, reporters and photographers are invited to the A426/Countesthorpe Road junction in Cosby at 11.30am on Tuesday, 13th June. Please contact the Press Office for further details.

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Great idea,
I live on a very minor road (little more than a lane) that just happens to be currently providing a very good by-pass of the roadworks on the A1/A421.

Since the works began I have noticed a dramatic increase in Artics using the road, many hammering along at an easy 40 (although this is hard to judge as a pedestrian) on a single lane road.

Deffo needs a 7.5 tonne limit IMHO.

How are they going to weigh the lorries anyway?
Or does the actual weight of the lorry not come in to it, only the maximum/minimum weight it could at some time carry?

Great idea,
I live on a very minor road (little more than a lane) that just happens to be currently providing a very good by-pass of the roadworks on the A1/A421.
Since the works began I have noticed a dramatic increase in Artics using the road, many hammering along at an easy 40 (although this is hard to judge as a pedestrian) on a single lane road.
Worst bit is the potholes/uneven surface mean that the whole house shakes when one goes past - hate to think what it is doing to the foundations.
The veg packers further down the road also seem to have expanded, we used to get the odd rigid curtain-sider but now have the super-tall artics coming down here trying to squeeze between parked cars (this is a residential street).
Deffo needs a 7.5 tonne limit IMHO.

The plated weight is used for such calculations. My tractor unit weighs around 7.5 tons on its own but is still classed as a 44 ton truck. I think.

In fairness, large lorries on minor roads are often only delivering a small part of their load to each drop, so IN THEORY a larger number of smaller delivery vehicles could be used.