Drop-down tailgates – such as what you see on pickup truck beds, ute trays or in some vans, hatchbacks and wagons – are designed to hold loads in place. It, combined with the sides and headboard of the storage area, is made to do the job.
However, sometimes you may find you need more space and the easiest option for that is to lower the tailgate.
- Overcrowding is a major concern for other road users
- In most situations, you can lower the rear door
- Make sure your license plate and tail lights are still visible
You’ll often see pickup trucks with dirt bikes in the back or work vehicles with an open rear tray for extra storage space. And it seems this is completely legal.
You must ensure that the rear number plate of your vehicle remains visible – this is a key road safety consideration and no matter what state or territory you are in, the police will not tolerate failure to can see detailed information about your reg.
Furthermore, you must ensure that other road users can still see your tail lights. Anyone riding behind can see when you brake, signal, or just be able to locate you on the road if you’re driving at night.
There are many specific regulations surrounding the loading of goods onto vehicles. Overloading is a chronic problem, and we’ve all seen pieces of steel or water pipes lost on the highway, because Jim the Tradie didn’t secure his load properly.
The reality is that not securing your load is a serious road safety issue. That’s partly why police have been cracking down on vehicles that don’t have nets to cover the cargo area, because stuff can fly out at high speed and that can be devastating for riders. behind your car.
If you’re wondering how much you’re allowed to protrude, you should check out the Light Vehicle Load Limitation Guide (2018). It includes the laws that Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory refer to.
In those jurisdictions, the rear overhang is measured from the rear axle. It is limited to whichever is less – 60% of the vehicle’s wheelbase or 3.7 meters from the rear axle.
Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear wheels. And for example, it measures 3220mm in a Ford Ranger. So that means you’re allowed an overhang of 1932mm measured from the rear axle or 3.7 meters from that point, whichever is lower.
In Western Australia, the rules are different, with so-called “rear projection” laws stating that a vehicle can have a load projecting up to 1.2 meters from the rear of the vehicle.
You also need to ensure that other road users can see your overhanging load.
The guidance says: “Loads with a projection not readily visible from the rear of the vehicle or with a rear projection greater than 1.2m (all States and Territories except Western Australia) must carry a warning signal. at the end of the rear projection”.
“During the day – a flag/material that is brightly colored and at least 300 mm long; at night – the red light is visible from 200m away.”
The Load Restrictions Guide (2004), which is the operational standard that applies to WA and the Northern Territory, provides some wise logic regarding vehicles and loading.
“Long cargo vehicles must be long enough to avoid excessive overhangs and ensure good weight distribution for vehicle stability,” the pamphlet states.
That document also provides some great advice on download security:
The load must be limited to prevent unacceptable movement during the expected duration operating conditions. Therefore, the load limiting system must satisfy the following requirements: request:
- The load must not fall off the vehicle.
- Any load movement must be limited, so that in all cases movement If this occurs, the stability and weight distribution of the vehicle cannot be adversely affected and the load cannot be thrown off the vehicle.
The load allowed to move relative to the vehicle includes the load allowed effectively contained within the sidewalls or body shells of the vehicle such as:
- The load is restricted from moving horizontally (limited vertically allowed to move);
- Very light objects or loose loads (limited horizontal and vertical movements are allowed);
- Bulk fluid (allows limited fluid movement);
To achieve this, the load restraint system must be able to withstand the force that would occur if the fully loaded vehicle were subjected to each of the following:
- Decelerate by 0.8 ‘g’ in the forward direction,
- Decelerate by 0.5 ‘g’ in the rear direction,
- Acceleration 0.5 ‘g’ in the horizontal direction,
- and accelerate to 0.2 ‘g’ relative to the vertical load.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant roads authority in your state or territory.
