Permit Dimensions
While legislation in various other EU jurisdictions may vary, in general terms loads in excess of 18.5m long and/or 2.55m wide and/or 4 / 4.25m high and/or 44 ton, require an Abnormal Load Permit to travel by road. In Ireland permits are required for all abnormal loads greater than 16.5m long and/or 2.90m wide and/or 4.65m high and/or 40 or 46 ton according to the vehicles axle make up and specifications.
In Ireland, there are two types of Abnormal Load Permits, a Garda issued S.I 147 permit which is for designated Motorway and National routes and the Abnormal Load Permit system which is independently administered by each Local Authority. The Garda permit covers upto the following dimensions 27.4m long and/or 4.30m wide and/or 4.65m high and/or 40 or 46 Ton and the Abnormal Load Permit system covers any dimensions including and above those for the Garda Permit and also for all of the routes that are undesignated. Accordingly, each journey will require a separate application to each of the Local Authority areas through which it is proposed to travel for dimensions above those specified for a Garda Permit, and generally for each Garda authorised route there will be at least one Local Authority permit required to get to and also at least one further Local Authority permit to get from the designated route to the final destination.
Lead in periods to obtain Permits
Each application requires a different application form, requiring different amounts of information, with different lead-in times and, of course, a fee in each case. Some permits require 30 days notice, others require liaison with various third parties after issue of the permit and almost all require interaction with MTCC to coordinate the utilisation of the country's Motorway Network.
Generally, however Local Authority permits require that the police are to be notified 4 days in advance of any movement and permits are usually issued within 4 – 7 days. For Garda S.I 147 permits the notice period is 5 working days excluding weekends, public holidays, day of application, and day of travel. We of course also require a day or two on top of this to perform the correct administrative process.
