The government is moving to tighten enforcement against overloaded trucks by procuring 20 motion weight scales and 400 clamps.
This is according to the Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, who made the announcement on Wednesday.
The initiative, which is currently out for tender, is aimed at reducing the widespread damage caused to roads, culverts, and bridges by overweight vehicles.
Speaking on the sidelines of a stakeholders’ consultation on the East Bank Demerara Road improvement project in Timehri, Minister Edghill explained that the new equipment will be used to hold truck operators accountable.
“At various points, we will have scales weighing the trucks, and when you get caught with your overweight, you will not pay a fine to continue down the road,” the minister stated.
“Just like how you are going to the airport and your suitcase is overweight, you get another suitcase. Another truck has to come and take off your weight because as you continue to go down the road with the weight, you are breaking culverts, damaging, and all the rest of it.”
The minister also disclosed that a regulatory framework to support the enforcement is already in place, with a Cabinet Subcommittee led by the Prime Minister spearheading the process.
“Once they come into place, the legislative framework, the regulatory framework, which will have to come under my hand as the Minister of Transportation, will be issued, and we will be able to get that done,” he said.
Minister Edghill noted that truckers are often among the people who complain when infrastructure fails, despite being among the main contributors to the problem.
He elaborated that, “the real thing is these trucks are owned by some of us, and they are fetching the materials for some of us. We can’t like it when we are getting 65 tonnes from a truck that should be carrying 35 or 40 tonnes. Then, when the road breaks up, we complain. When the bridges break, you know who complains first, the truckers.”
The growing damage from overloaded trucks has become unsustainable, prompting concern at the highest levels.
Just last week, the Vice President met with contractors to address recent damage to infrastructure along the East Coast corridor.
While police have already implemented no-truck routes in several villages and established speed limits, Minister Edghill stressed that effective enforcement requires the right tools. He expressed optimism that the new measures will usher in a new era of accountability and greater care on the nation’s roadways. DPI
