Bus load limits under review as Australians get bigger

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/29/bus-load-limits-under-review-as-australians-get-bigger

Version 0 of 1.

Buses around the country are struggling to operate within maximum load laws owing to Australia’s growing obesity problem.Authorities are looking at increasing the mass limit of a two-axle bus from 16 to 18 tonnes, according to the National Transport Commission’s annual report.The report highlights that when the laws were designed in 1989 the average adult’s weight was taken as 65kg.In fact they were slightly heavier, according to the ABS, with the average man 77.4kg and the average woman 62.6kg.But average size has increased since in the past quarter of a century. The NTC says a 2011-12 Australian Health Survey found the average man had increased to 86kg, while the average woman was 71kg.The health report further found about 63% of adults were now overweight or obese – up from 45% in 1989.“It is possible that buses can be technically overloaded even when within their maximum passenger operating limits,” the NTC annual report explains.Bus operators say the rules have to change and the NTC has recommended that the National Vehicle Regulator develop a notice to allow an 18-tonne nationwide limit.The notice to increase the limit by two tonnes is expected to be progressed over the next year, the NTC said.