Limits on goods loaded onto road vehicles in Vietnam

Pursuant to Chapter V of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT stipulating limits on goods loaded onto road vehicles running on public roads in Vietnam as follows: 

- Goods must be loaded onto road vehicles in accordance with the regulations on GVW and GAW of the vehicles and height, width, and length of the cargo as prescribed in Articles 16, 17 and 18 of this Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT, and within the load capacity of the vehicle specified on the Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection of the vehicle.

- Goods must be arranged tidily and tied firmly and must not obstruct the driving of vehicles, ensuring traffic safety when running on public roads.

Limits on goods loaded onto road vehicles in Vietnam

1. Gross axle weight (GAW)

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT stipulating gross axle weight (GAW) in accordance with the law in Vietnam as follows: 

- Single axle: GAW ≤ 10 tonnes.

- Double-axle group, GAW depends on the distance (d) between two axles:

+ If d < 1.0 meter, GAW ≤ 11 tonnes;

+ If 1.0 meter ≤ d < 1.3 meters, GAW ≤ 16 tonnes;

+ If d ≥ 1.3 meters, GAW ≤ 18 tonnes.

- Triple-axle group, GAW depends on the distance (d) between two consecutive axles:

+ If d ≤ 1.3 meters, GAW ≤ 21 tonnes;

+ If d > 1.3 meters, GAW ≤ 24 tonnes.

2. Gross vehicle weight (GVW)

Pursuant to Article 17 of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT stipulating gross vehicle weight (GVW) in accordance with the law in Vietnam as follows: 

(1) Unibody vehicles:

- If the vehicle has 2 axles, GVW ≤ 16 tonnes

- If the vehicle has 3 axles, GVW ≤ 24 tonnes;

- If the vehicle has 4 axles, GVW ≤ 30 tonnes;

- If the vehicle has 5 or more axles, GVW depends on the distance (d) between the first axle and the last axle:

+ If d ≤ 7 meters, GVW ≤ 32 tonnes;

+ If d > 7 meters, GVW ≤ 34 tonnes;

(2) Semi-trailer trucks:

- If the vehicle has 3 axles, GVW ≤ 26 tonnes;

- If the vehicle has 4 axles, GVW ≤ 34 tonnes;

- If the vehicle has 5 axles, GVW depends on the distance (d) between the wheel coupling pin and the first axle of the semi-trailer:

+ If 3.2 ≤ d ≤ 4.5 meters, GVW ≤ 38 tonnes;

+ If d > 4.5 meters, GVW ≤ 42 tonnes;

- If the vehicle has 6 or more axles, GVW depends on the distance (d) between the wheel coupling pin and the first axle of the semi-trailer:

+ If 3.2 ≤ d ≤ 4.5 meters, GVW ≤ 40 tonnes; if the semi-trailer is a container, GVW ≤ 42 tonnes;

+ If 4.5 < d ≤ 6.5 meters, GVW ≤ 44 tonnes;

+ If d > 6.5 meters, GVW ≤ 48 tonnes.

(3) If a trailer is pulled by a unibody truck: the total weight, which is the total of the GVW of the unibody truck (according to GVW specified in item (1)) and the GAW of the trailer being pulled (according to Article 16 of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT). To be specific:

- If a single-axle trailer is pulled by a unibody truck and the distance between the wheel coupling pin and the middle of the axle group of the trailer on the horizontal surface of the pull bar is 3.7 meters or longer then the GVW must be 45 tonnes or lower;

- If a multi-axle trailer is pulled by a unibody truck and the distance between the wheel coupling pin and the middle of the axle group of the trailer on the horizontal surface of the pull bar is 3.0 meters or longer, then the GVW must be 45 tonnes or lower.

(4) If a semi-trailer is pulled by a truck (specified in clause 2 of this Article) and the distance between the wheel coupling pin and the first axle of the semi-trailer is shorter than 3.2 meters or if a single-axle trailer is pull by a unibody truck and the distance between the wheel coupling pin and the middle point of the axle group of the trailer is shorter than 3.7 meters or if a multi-axle trailer is pulled by a unibody truck and the distance between the wheel coupling pin and the front axle group of the trailer is shorter than 3.0 meters, then the GVW of the tractor-trailer must be decreased by 2 tonnes for each meter of length that is shortened.

(5) Regarding vehicles with auxiliary axles, its GVW shall be determined according to regulations in Article 16 and clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article in accordance with the actual axles directly affect the road surface when running on public roads.

3. Height of goods loaded onto road vehicles in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 18 of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT stipulating height of goods loaded onto road vehicles in Vietnam as follows:

- Regarding box trucks, the allowable height of goods loaded onto the vehicle is the maximum height of goods inside the box as designed by the manufacturer or according to a modified design approved by a competent authority.

- Regarding flatbed trucks, goods loaded on the vehicle that exceed the height of the box (as designed by the manufacturer or as approved by a competent authority) must be firmly tied and choked to ensure the safety when running on public roads. The height of loaded goods must not exceed the heights below (from the road surface):

+ If the payload weights 5 tonnes or more (according to the Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection), the height of loaded goods must not exceed 4.2 meters;

+ If the payload weights from 2.5 tonnes to less than 5 tonnes (according to the Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection), the height of loaded goods must not exceed 3.5 meters;

+ If the payload weights less than 2.5 tonnes (according to the Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection), the height of loaded goods must not exceed 2.8 meters;

- Specialized vehicles and container trucks: the height of loaded goods from the road surface must not exceed 4.35 meters.

- If the vehicle carries bulk cargo or building materials including soil, sand, gravel, coal, ores and the likes, the height of loaded goods must not exceed the height of the box that is specified on the Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection.

4. Width and length of goods loaded onto road vehicles to be operated on public roads in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 19 of the Circular 46/2015/TT-BGTVT stipulating width and length of goods loaded onto road vehicles to be operated on public roads in Vietnam as follows:

- The width of loaded goods on a road motor vehicle is the width of the box as designed by the manufacturer or as approved by a competent authority.

- The length of loaded goods on a road motor vehicle must not exceed 1.1 times the total length of the vehicle as designed by the manufacturer or as approved by a competent authority and must not be longer than 20.0 meters. If the length of loaded goods exceeds the permissible limit, the cargo box must bear warnings and goods must be firmly tied to ensure safety while running on public roads.

- Goods and luggage loaded onto a passenger vehicle must not exceed the outer dimensions of the vehicle.

- Goods loaded onto a motorbike must not exceed the cargo bracket designed by the manufacturer 0.3 meter to the sides and 0.5 meter to the rear.  The height of goods from the road surface must not exceed 1.5 meters.

- Goods loaded onto a non-motorized vehicle must not exceed 1 meter or exceed 1/3 the vehicle length to the front and the rear, whichever is lesser, and must not exceed 0.4 meter to each side of the wheels.

Quoc Dat

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