West Midlands – clarity on paying for police to escort abnormal loads

West Midlands Police has reiterated to the Abnormal Loads Group (ALG) that operators are not mandated to hire police officers to escort abnormal loads as a matter of course in their area.

Hauliers must notify police when they’re moving abnormal loads when specific dimensions and/or weight thresholds are reached, but are free to ‘self-escort’ unless they feel they need to pay for officers to assist.

This confirmation comes after hauliers had reported that the West Midlands officers had insisted that they must hire officers to escort.

The force said they’re committed to working with hauliers and will continue to support with escort where appropriate.

We are however still hearing reports that some police forces are insisting that hauliers hire officers to escort loads even when they didn’t intend to.

If this has been your experience recently, we’d ask you to get in touch so we address your concerns with police… 

Email: [email protected]

Please include:

Dates;
Force area;
Numbers of officers they asked you to pay for;
Cost;
Journey start/finish;
Load carried;
Notice time given to police;
Impact this has had on the movement/business/customer(s);
Any other relevant details.

Meanwhile, the ALG has revealed that inconsistent police enforcement on abnormal loads across the country is costing the economy up to £584m per year. Report: The costs of increased police enforcement of Abnormal Loads regulations