General Rules for the Car’s Load
- The load must not hang freely outside the vehicle; i.e. a tarpaulin or a tension band.
- The load must not cover the registration plate or any of the lights on the car.
- The load must not obstruct the driver’s view or make it difficult for the driver to manoeuvre the vehicle.
- The load should be secured so that it does not pose any danger to others.
- You may not carry more passengers than specified in your certificate of registration.
- Passengers (but not the driver) count towards the car’s load. Keep in mind that the total weight of all passengers together with other load in the car must not exceed the maximum permitted load of the car. You can find information about what your maximum permitted load is in your certificate of registration.
- Equipment and other accessories that are not mounted on the car are also counted as load.
- The load must not create disturbing dust or similar.
- You will find more information about how much load weight you can have on the roof of the car in the instruction manual.
Rules on Width of the Load/Vehicle
- The total width of your vehicle must not exceed 260 cm, with load included in this.
- The load may protrude from the vehicle by max 20 cm on each side.
Exception: There are certain vehicles, such as agricultural vehicles and heavy equipment, which may carry loads that protrude by more than the rules here stipulated.
Rules on Length of the Load/Vehicle
- The total length of the vehicle must not exceed 24 metres, with load included in this. This also applies with trailer attached. Exception: If certain requirements are met, then the total length may be 25.25 metres.
- All load that protrudes in front of the vehicle must be marked. Exception: It is not necessary to mark the load if it is clearly visible to other road users and does not protrude at the front by more than one metre.
- All load that protrudes by more than one metre at the rear must be marked.
- Load which protrudes at the front of the vehicle or by more than one metre at the rear of the vehicle must be marked with red/yellow flags in daylight. In the dark, the load must be marked with red lights and red reflectors at the rear and white lights and white reflectors at the front.
Weights
Total weight
The total weight is the combined weight of the vehicle’s calculated kerb weight, the maximum number of passengers (not including the driver) and the total amount of goods that the car can be loaded with.
Kerb weight
Kerb weight is the car’s weight, including the weight of the driver, when it is unloaded. Everything which belongs to the car is included in the kerb weight; e.g. spare tyre, tools and fuel.
Maximum load
The maximum load determines how much load you can have in the car and constitutes the difference between the total weight and the kerb weight. Total weight - kerb weight = maximum load
Remember that the weight of passengers is also counted as part of the vehicle’s load!
Gross weight
Gross weight is the weight of a car or trailer at a particular time. The gross weight will change depending on how much load you have in the car.
