According to the EU’s will, every truck is now supposed to get its own onboard weighbridge.
However, the EU prescribes a standard that, according to the EU, the industry currently cannot yet implement.
Why this whole thing
Overloaded vehicles are not only dangerous for themselves but also for others. Personally, I am fully aware that vehicles can do more than what the legislator here in Germany currently prescribes.
Nevertheless, the danger posed by overloaded vehicles will remain a long-term issue. Just thinking about the increased wear and tear is enough…
What Brussels plans now
According to the EU’s will, the COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2019/1213 of 12 July 2019 laying down detailed rules for ensuring uniform conditions for the implementation of interoperability and compatibility requirements for onboard weighing systems after Council Directive 96/53/EC enters into force on 27 May 2021.
That’s about it. However, the system is supposed to be able to display the correct weight at any time and must be checked and “calibrated” every two years, just like the speedometer.
I myself already have an onboard weighbridge installed in my truck. Depending on how the vehicle is positioned, it shows me either the correct weight or not. To determine the correct weight, I need to be on a flat surface with the brakes released. This is not always possible in the forest.
Further planning
Now that Brussels has planned an onboard weighbridge for every truck, that’s not enough. Otherwise, I wouldn’t write this article. I find the basic idea not wrong at all, even though I know there are truck drivers who simply don’t care how much their truck weighs. However, I am assuming here that this is more of an exception. After all, although I work in a sector that is constantly accused of overloading, it doesn’t matter to me what my truck weighs. At 44 tonnes, it’s over. Fortunately, my boss sees it the same way.
So… According to the regulation linked above, weighing systems are not only supposed to be similar to the new digital tachograph but also readable while passing by. It can’t be that the truck isn’t transparent down to the smallest detail.
The fact is that the individual systems available are supposed to be compatible with each other across Europe.
I think this should work, because it works with my 8-year-old truck anyway.
Oh yes… Retrofitting obligation … This has been abolished.
Update 2026
Current status (2026)
When this article was written in 2020, the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1213 was still relatively fresh and many assumed that every truck might soon get an onboard weighbridge.
Six years later, however, it has turned out differently.
The regulation itself is indeed in force and defines European technical standards for so-called onboard weighing systems. However, there is no obligation for every truck to be equipped with such an onboard weighbridge to date.
Instead, the EU has left member states with various options to control overloading. In addition to classic onboard weighbridges, this also includes automatic weight measurements while driving.
Germany is now relying precisely on this technology.
Since 2026, so-called Weigh-in-Motion Systems (WIM) are being introduced on German motorways. Sensors directly in the road surface measure the weight of trucks while they are driving. Vehicles with conspicuous axle loads or total weights can then be specifically taken out of traffic and checked on a calibrated weighbridge. I published this article about this.
The first installation is being created on the A4 between Aachen and Cologne as a pilot project. In total, around 16 such automatic control stations are planned for German motorways by 2028.
For trucks, this concretely means:
There is still no general obligation to install onboard weighbridges. Instead, weight control is increasingly being shifted to infrastructure systems in the road space that can capture vehicles while they are driving.
