Does carrying one extra child count as overloading?
3 Answers
Carrying one extra child counts as overloading. Article 49 of the Road Traffic Safety Law stipulates: The number of passengers in a motor vehicle shall not exceed the approved capacity, and passenger vehicles shall not carry goods in violation of regulations. Article 48 of the Road Traffic Safety Law states: The load of a motor vehicle shall comply with the approved carrying capacity, and overloading is strictly prohibited; the length, width, and height of the load shall not violate loading requirements, and the transported goods shall not be spilled or scattered. The following are the hazards of overloading: 1. It is highly likely to induce traffic accidents: Overloaded vehicles operate under excessive load for a long time, resulting in lower braking and operational safety performance, which can easily lead to tire blowouts, brake failure, broken leaf springs, and half-shaft fractures, posing serious hazards to traffic safety. 2. It significantly shortens the service life of roads: The load of overloaded vehicles generally far exceeds the design load capacity of roads and bridges. Their frequent use causes road surface damage and bridge fractures, significantly reducing the normal service life of roads and necessitating early major repairs.
I got caught in this situation just the other day when I took my kid back to my hometown! The car had five adults plus my five-year-old daughter, and we were pulled over by traffic police at the highway toll gate for overloading. I argued, 'The kid only weighs 30 pounds,' but the officer pointed to the traffic regulations and said, 'It’s counted by head.' Later, I looked it up and realized: according to traffic safety laws, 'overloading' refers to exceeding the approved number of passengers, regardless of age or weight. A five-seater car carrying six people is a solid 20% overload, resulting in a 200-yuan fine and 3 demerit points. More importantly, insurance companies might refuse to cover accident damages—last year, a parent holding a child in the front passenger seat got into a rear-end collision, and the airbag injured the child, leaving them to pay the medical bills themselves.
Having worked in auto repair for over a decade, I've disassembled countless wrecked vehicles. The most heartbreaking cases are those with entire families crammed into one car—four adults squeezing three kids in the back seat. In a crash, the vehicle's structure simply can't withstand that. Here's a little-known fact: cars undergo roof crush tests during manufacturing, with strength designed according to seat capacity. Adding one extra child might seem insignificant? But during emergency braking, inertia amplifies a child's weight tenfold! That's why seatbelt buckle load ratings are calculated down to the gram. The worst case I've seen: a 7-seater packed with 10 people, where overheated rear wheel bearings deformed and caused a rollover.
