The many reasons why commercial vehicle weight matters aren’t always so apparent. There are the obvious reasons like avoiding overweight fines and penalties, but that is just one of the many examples that fall under a much larger umbrella labeled “waste”. The weight of a commercial truck or trailer matters because it is a leading contributor to the amount of potential waste created in a business. Eliminating waste helps you retain valuable profit. The list below will help you identify where profit is leaking from your business on account of not knowing your GVW.
1. Payload
Underweight trucks and trailers could mean money left at the dock. Maximizing every load to capacity ensures that you’re hauling efficiently and increases the number of full loads you’re able to make.
2. Liability
Overloaded vehicles are more difficult to control. Stopping distance increases the heavier a vehicle is, and brakes fail at a much faster pace. If the driver is in an accident, the victims may bring a lawsuit against the driver and the trucking company that owns the trucks.
3. Maintenance
Trucks that routinely carry more weight than recommended require more maintenance and repairs. The average minor break-down call is between two to two-and-a-half hours, and costs between $400 to $600 for a repair. A driver starts a day with 660 minutes of available driving time; wasting any of that time adds to the service cost and eats into the fleet’s bottom line. Add in the lost potential revenue from the driver’s next trip and it adds up to a sizable amount of unnecessary, preventable costs.
4. Tickets and Penalties
The more obvious reason why weight is important is to avoid overweight fines that can quickly double in cost after penalties and court dues. 500,000 overweight tickets are issued yearly, and the majority of these fines probably would have been avoided if the weight of the vehicle had been known before leaving the loading site.
5. Time
Knowing your vehicle’s weight at the loading site means you or your drivers don’t have to make out-of-route trips to the check weigh scales before hitting the road. Finding out that a load is overweight after leaving the yard is a huge inconvenience and waste of time. The driver either has to return to the loading site, or risk their safety in adjusting the load themselves.
Air-Weigh scales allow you to see real-time weights in the cab, which will help eliminate the many costs associated with vehicles being overweight or underloaded.
To learn more, visit our website or contact one of our Air-Weigh representatives to receive a quote.
Website: www.Air-Weigh.com
Call: 888.459.3444
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