Sri Vijaya Puram, May 27: It has been observed that there has been an increasing incidence of overloading of goods vehicles passing through the ATR and also informed by the road owing agencies and other stake holders, which poses a serious threat to road safety, causes damage to roads and bridges, and leads to accidents.
The general public, transporters, truck owners, drivers and all other stakeholders are hereby informed that under Section 113 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988, no person shall drive or permit any motor vehicle to be driven carrying load in excess of the permissible gross vehicle weight or axle weight fixed for that vehicle.
To ensure effective monitoring and regulation of vehicle loads and to prevent overloading and safeguarding the road infrastructure, the Transport Department under the aegis of A&N Administration has initiated Enforcement Drive on National Highway– NH-4 (ATR) to check overloading of trucks and other transport vehicles with effect from 12.05.2026.
The vehicle owners and drivers are hereby informed that during the enforcement drive, vehicles shall be randomly subjected to inspection and on suspicion, the said vehicle will be conveyed to the nearby weighing device for weighment as provided under Section 114 of MV Act 1988. The Act further provides that, if on such weighment, the vehicle is found to contravene in any respect to the provisions of Section 113 regarding weight, any officer of Transport Department by order in writing will direct the driver to off-load the excess weight at his own risk and not to remove the vehicle or trailer from that place until the laden weight has been reduced or till its compliance with section 113. On receipt of such notice, the driver shall comply with such directions. If any vehicle on such inspection on suspicion is weighed, the weighment cost will be borne by Transport Department.
If any vehicle is found violating the provisions of Section 113, the appropriate penalty under Section 194 of MV Act 1988 provides that whoever drives a motor vehicle or causes or allows a motor vehicle to be driven in contravention of the provisions of Section 113 or Section 114 or Section 115 shall be punishable with a fine of twenty thousand rupees and an additional amount of two thousand rupees per tonne of excess load, together with the liability to pay charges for off-loading of such load.
So far, 29 vehicles have been randomly checked for overloading and 12 vehicles were subjected to weighment, out of which 04 vehicles were found carrying load in excess of the permissible gross vehicle weight or axle weight fixed for the respective vehicles, necessary fines have been imposed, and after removal of the excess load, the vehicles were allowed to move.
Once again Transport operators, vehicle owners and drivers are therefore requested to ensure strict adherence to the prescribed load limits and traffic regulations to avoid penal action. The cooperation of all stakeholders is solicited in the interest of road safety, protection of public infrastructure and smooth movement of traffic across the Islands.