Does carrying one extra child in a private car count as overloading?
1 Answers
Carrying one extra child counts as overloading, as long as the number of passengers exceeds the rated capacity. Child overloading is, to some extent, more severe than adult overloading because children lack the ability to protect themselves. Traffic police regulations on overloading penalties: For highway passenger vehicles, Article 92 of the "Road Traffic Safety Law" stipulates: If a highway passenger vehicle carries more passengers than the rated capacity, a fine shall be imposed. For small cars, Article 90 of the "Road Traffic Safety Law" stipulates: If a motor vehicle driver violates road traffic safety laws and regulations, a warning or fine shall be imposed. For freight vehicles, Article 92 of the "Road Traffic Safety Law" stipulates: If a freight motor vehicle exceeds the rated load capacity, a fine shall be imposed. Overloading demerit point penalties: Any vehicle exceeding 20% of the rated capacity is considered overloaded and will be penalized according to the new traffic regulations. The new regulations have increased the demerit points for serious traffic violations involving overloading of key vehicle types. Driving a commercial passenger vehicle with more than 20% over the rated capacity results in 12 demerit points; driving a commercial passenger vehicle with overloading not exceeding 20%, or driving other passenger vehicles with more than 20% over the rated capacity, results in 6 demerit points; driving passenger vehicles other than commercial passenger vehicles or school buses with overloading not exceeding 20% results in 3 demerit points.
