Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Land Transport Act 1998

Additional responsibilities concerning road transport

16: Heavy motor vehicles not to be overloaded or in breach of dimension requirements

You could also call this:

“Big vehicles must follow weight and size rules”

You need to be careful when you’re driving or operating a big, heavy vehicle or a group of vehicles connected together. There are rules about how much these vehicles can weigh and how big they can be.

You’re not allowed to drive these big vehicles if they’re too heavy. There are limits on how much weight can be on each axle, which are the parts that connect the wheels to the vehicle. There are also limits for groups of axles and for the whole vehicle.

You also can’t drive a heavy vehicle if it weighs more than it’s supposed to overall. This is called the gross vehicle mass.

Lastly, you need to make sure your big vehicle or group of vehicles isn’t too big in size. There are rules about how long, wide, or tall these vehicles can be.

If you break any of these rules about weight or size, you’re not following the law.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM434532.

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16A: Temporary restriction of heavy traffic on roads, or

"Roads can be closed to big trucks if it's dangerous"

Part 3 Additional responsibilities concerning road transport

16Heavy motor vehicles not to be overloaded or in breach of dimension requirements

  1. A person operating a heavy motor vehicle or combination of vehicles must not operate the vehicle or combination of vehicles in breach of any of the following:

  2. the prescribed maximum mass limits for axles:
    1. the prescribed maximum mass limits for axle sets:
      1. the prescribed maximum mass limits for groups of axles:
        1. the prescribed maximum gross mass limits for motor vehicles.

          1. A person must not operate a heavy motor vehicle or combination of vehicles if the vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds the gross vehicle mass for that vehicle or vehicles.

          2. A person must not operate a heavy motor vehicle or combination of vehicles if the vehicle or combination of vehicles breaches prescribed requirements in relation to dimensions.

          Notes
          • Section 16: replaced, on , by section 48 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 34).