China’s truck drivers say they are forced to overload vehicles to survive despite fatal road collapse

Authorities in Jiangsu launched a crackdown after a flyover collapsed in Wuxi city, but many hauliers say they are forced to cut corners to survive

Many of China’s 30 million truck drivers are facing rising costs but have to reduce their prices in order to remain competitive

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The accident in Wuxi was blamed on a truck carrying 170 tonnes of steel coils. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 14 Oct 2019Updated: 8:19am, 14 Oct 2019

Chinese haulage industry insiders have said drivers are being forced to carry more than the permitted loads to survive after the authorities began a crackdown on the practice following a fatal accident.

The provincial authorities in Jiangsu, in eastern China, launched a campaign to rectify overloaded vehicles after a four-year-old girl and her mother were crushed in their car as the flyover collapsed on top of them in Wuxi city on Thursday evening. A man in another car was also killed and two people injured in an accident that was blamed on an overloaded truck.

The authorities said the truck was carrying more than 170 tonnes of steel coils –115 tonnes more than the permitted maximum.

But industry insiders said most of China’s 30 million owner-operators are forced to cut corners to survive in the face of skyrocketing fuel costs and falling orders.

“Overloading is becoming the only way to be profitable and survive in the industry,” said Wang Xianping, a 45-year-old truck driver from Hubei, adding this year was the worst for China’s hauliers, with the most fierce competition ever.

“Orders and freight income have been shrinking to a new record low since this year,” he said. “Most truck drivers cannot afford to employ a relief driver and have to get by with just four hours of sleep on a 24-hour trip.