Overloaded van

Perhaps an extreme example but no doubt VOSA would argue that this is precisely what the law is there to prevent

OUT of adversity comes opportunity, said Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America.

David Carruthers, a director at Tholos Technology, probably wasn’t thinking that at the time when he was stopped and his van was found to be overloaded.

But according to Tholos Technology director Alan Macdonald, who was telling me this story as background to the launch of the new Van overload protection system by Tholos, this is exactly how the new system was developed.

How do you know when a vehicle is overweight?

Having been handed a fixed penalty fine for driving an overweight van, David said to the police: “How do you know when a vehicle is overweight?”

That was two years ago.

And from that moment of adversity came the germ of an idea that has reached fruition – following research with van fleet operators – with the company’s own van overload protection system.

Tholos van overload protection

Here’s what the Tholos overload protection system looks like. Simple set up, no trailing wires, and best of all, it keeps you legal

I rather like it.

Although only available for Android devices, the system shows in real time whether the van you are loading is overweight.

“One of the things that we picked up during the product’s development,” explained Alan, “was the fact that vehicles can be under weight but incorrectly loaded. So we’ve also included this in the product as incorrectly loaded vans can cause handling problems.”

The Tholos van overload protection system is ‘fit and forget’. Once it’s been calibrated then you needn’t worry. Although you will need it fitted before any racking is installed.

It also works even if your van isn’t on a level surface. And as it’s a wireless set up using Bluetooth technology, there’s no messy wires, either.

It’s clever, and keeps your company and drivers legal and compliant.

For more on keeping your vans legally compliant on weights, click here: Business Van Law – Weights.

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