After over three decades, the government will announce an increase in the maximum axle load of heavy vehicles by 20 to 25 per cent claim industry sources. They mention that this will bring truck axle load norms on par with international norms and boost logistics as well as the trucking industry. The move is likely to reduce the transportation cost of goods and curb overloading. The overall capacity of a two-axle truck is set to go up to 19-tonnes from the current 16-tonnes as the norms specifying the increase in axle loads are announced,

mention sources. The current norm for load for each additional axle in a heavy vehicle is nine-tonnes. Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari is said to have discussed the issue with private highway developers to bring them on-board, and to avoid future arbitration. Expressed S P Singh, Senior Fellow, IFTRT, that once the government fixes new axle load, it should stop overloading. Any move to compound offence of overloading goes against the concept of road safety, he added. While overloading is claimed to exist on roads with the connivance of local (regional) authorities other than the prime highway stretches where road builders collect 10-fold toll, the government is said to have begun installing weigh-in-motion bridges to detect overloading.