VICIn ForceAct
Road Safety Act 1986
153Mass limits
Start here
Get a plain-English read of 153
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Road Safety Act 1986.
153 Mass limits
(1) A ***mass limit*** is a limit specified under this Act concerning the mass of—
(a) a vehicle; or
(b) any component of a vehicle.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the following are mass limits—
(a) a limit concerning—
(i) the gross mass of a vehicle (that is, the unladen mass of the vehicle together with any load in or on the vehicle); or
(ii) the mass on a tyre, an axle or an axle group of the vehicle;
(b) a limit concerning axle spacing;
(c) mass limits set out on signs erected or displayed under this Act (for example, a sign-posted bridge limit).
(3) A breach of a mass limit is a minor risk breach if—
(a) in the case of a mass limit that relates to the gross mass of a vehicle, the amount by which the limit is exceeded is less than either or both of the following—
(i) 5% of the maximum permissible mass; or
(ii) 0⋅5 tonnes; or
(b) in any other case, the amount by which the limit is exceeded is less than 5% of the maximum permissible mass.
(4) Subject to subsection (3)(a)(ii), a breach of a mass limit is a substantial risk breach if the amount by which the limit is exceeded is 5% or more of the maximum permissible mass, but less than 20% of the maximum permissible mass.
(5) A breach of a mass limit is a severe risk breach if the amount by which the limit is exceeded is 20% or more of the maximum permissible mass.
(6) For the purposes of this section, all relevant measurements are to be rounded up to the nearest 0⋅1 tonnes.
S. 154 inserted by No. 110/2004 s. 41.