The State Council has issued a notice: flatbed trucks may no longer carry general cargo, and freight vehicles must be equipped with these additional devices—what other signals does this send?

Release date:

2022-09-01

Author:

Jinhua Logistics

The General Office of the State Council has issued a notice on the “14th Five-Year National Road Traffic Safety Plan,” which also outlines numerous provisions regarding the future development of the freight transport sector.

The General Office of the State Council has issued the “ “ 14th Five-Year Plan ” The Notice on the National Road Traffic Safety Plan also outlines numerous provisions regarding the future development of the freight transport sector.

As is well known, various policies, regulations, and technical standards serve as key indicators of market trends in the freight industry. So what changes can we expect in the sector? And how will vehicle‑related technical requirements evolve? Recently, the Office of the State Council Work Safety Committee issued the… The “Notice on the National Road Traffic Safety Plan for the 14th Five-Year Period” also outlines numerous provisions regarding the future development of the freight transport sector.

In terms of truck management:

1. Strengthen consistency inspections and dynamic oversight across all stages—vehicle manufacturing, sales, registration, inspection, and use—and jointly launch special campaigns to address overloading, over‑dimensional transport, and illegal modifications, holding relevant enterprises and individuals strictly accountable under the law for any violations. 2. Enhance regulatory oversight of the production and modification of vehicles transporting dangerous goods, dump trucks, semi‑trailers, light‑duty cargo vehicles, and concrete mixer trucks. 3. Severely crack down on illegal and non‑compliant practices, including heavy‑duty trucks labeled as “hundred‑ton kings,” light‑duty trucks with falsely marked load capacities, atmospheric‑pressure liquid hazardous‑goods tankers with oversized tanks but undersized markings, and the resale of certificates of conformity. 4. Ensure that all products from vehicles found in serious violation are fully recalled and brought into compliance. 5. Steadily advance efforts to regulate ultra‑long flatbed semi‑trailers and ultra‑long container semi‑trailers. 6. Promote the withdrawal of low‑flatbed trailers from the bulk‑cargo transportation market.

In addition to the previously routine measures targeting overloading and over‑dimensional transport, as well as the crackdown on illegal vehicle modifications, the notice highlights two further points that warrant our attention.

First of all, “Ensuring that all vehicles found to be in serious violation are recalled and brought into compliance” — this measure appears capable of addressing the persistent challenge of managing non‑compliant blue‑plate light trucks currently in use. Under the existing inspection standards, for blue‑plate light trucks registered after March 1, 2015, the discrepancy between the vehicle’s unladen weight and the curb‑weight technical parameters recorded at registration must not exceed ±10% or ±200 kg for light‑duty trucks. Furthermore, the unladen weight of a light truck must be below 4,500 kg; otherwise, it will fail the inspection. At present, the number of non‑compliant blue‑plate light trucks in service is substantial. If annual inspections were enforced rigorously, many such vehicles would be unable to pass. So what should be done with those that cannot meet the requirements? The “recall and rectification” approach outlined in the notice may help alleviate this issue to some extent, but numerous practical challenges remain to be resolved.

Secondly, “Promote the withdrawal of low-flatbed trailers from the bulk‑cargo transportation market.” Low‑flatbed trailers include commonly seen models such as 13.5‑meter and 17.5‑meter flatbed semi‑trailers. In fact, these heavy‑duty flatbeds were originally designed to carry large, non‑disassemblable cargo, not bulk goods. However, thanks to their exceptional loading capacity, they have gradually come to be regarded as “all‑purpose bulk‑cargo vehicles,” and have also become a hotbed for over‑dimensional and overloaded violations. To many truck drivers, these “extremely oversized flatbeds” have, to some extent, put downward pressure on freight rates. Over the years, efforts to regulate such vehicles have been ongoing, yet the results have remained limited. With this latest notice once again calling for “promoting the withdrawal of low‑flatbed trailers from the bulk‑cargo market,” it is likely that future measures targeting these large flatbeds will become even stricter.

Vehicle Technology Changes:

1. Enhance safety requirements for commercial vehicles by mandating that heavy-duty trucks be equipped, in strict compliance with relevant standards, with lane‑departure warning systems and forward collision‑warning systems, and by promoting the installation of right‑side blind‑spot elimination warning devices and other safety features on in-service heavy-duty trucks. 2. Strengthen safety technical regulations for vehicle types prone to violations, such as dump semi‑trailers and flatbed recovery vehicles; improve the passive safety performance of light‑duty trucks; formulate and implement national standards for cargo loading and securing on freight vehicles; and enhance the crashworthiness and leak‑proofing of tank bodies on tank‑type vehicles transporting non‑pressurized liquid hazardous goods. 3. Increase the rate of installation of active and passive safety devices on passenger and freight vehicles, and promote the application of intelligent video‑monitoring and alarm technologies. 4. Achieve universal adoption of safety devices such as retarders on heavy-duty trucks. 5. Intensify research into the operational safety of new vehicle combinations, including center‑axle trailer trains and double‑trailer truck trains. 6. Study the installation and use of alcohol interlock devices on key vehicle categories, including passenger buses, tourist coaches, hazardous‑goods transport vehicles, and freight trucks.

Although this notice pertains only to future planning, it nonetheless points to new directions in the evolution of automotive technology, enabling us to prepare in advance.

First, there continues to be further advancement in various active safety systems and equipment. Previously, the Ministry of Transport issued the “Regulations on Safety Technology for Commercial Freight Vehicles, Article…” Section 2: Towing Vehicles and Trailers—According to the regulations, towing vehicles must be equipped with four devices: an electronic braking system (EBS), disc brakes on the steering wheels, a blowout‑emergency device for the steering axle (for non‑dual‑axle configurations), and a single‑tire pressure monitoring system. Otherwise, the vehicle’s speed shall be limited to 89 km/h.

According to this notice, heavy-duty trucks will soon be equipped with additional safety systems, including lane‑departure warning, collision‑avoidance warning, and intelligent video‑monitoring and alarm technologies. For heavy‑truck operators, these measures will undoubtedly enhance driving safety, though they will also increase vehicle‑operating costs to some extent.

Secondly, the notice states that heavy-duty trucks will be required to be equipped with retarders and other safety devices. As equipment capable of effectively addressing the issue of brake overheating on long downhill grades, retarders have seen steadily increasing installation rates in recent years. However, for various reasons, their overall penetration remains insufficient. Whether these measures will be mandated by policy or regulations in the next phase remains uncertain, as they too face challenges related to safety and cost.

The notice also states that research on the operational safety of new vehicle‑train configurations—such as center‑axle trailer trains and double‑trailer truck trains—will be strengthened. Due to China’s topography, regulatory frameworks, and market conditions, these vehicle‑train types have yet to achieve widespread adoption, and their safety remains a major concern for many truck drivers. If these two vehicle‑train configurations are promoted in the future, their payload capacity could potentially be further increased. In addition, the installation and use of alcohol interlock devices deserve attention; an alcohol interlock refers to… “The alcohol‑sensing ignition‑lock device” requires drivers to blow into it before starting the car; if the reading exceeds the safety threshold, the vehicle will not start. Drunk driving is extremely dangerous, and installing an alcohol interlock can enhance road safety by helping to prevent driving under the influence. However, if such devices become standard equipment from the factory, the associated cost would still fall on motorists.

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