🚗 Maximum Authorized Mass (MAM)
The vehicle’s ITV card specifies the Maximum Authorized Mass (MAM), seats, towable mass and per-axle mass. Exceeding these limits compromises road safety ⚠️ and the vehicle’s stability (brakes, tires, suspension).
Even without reaching the maximum weight, factors such as the number of occupants or driving on a slope affect the vehicle’s performance.
👨👩👧👦 Transporting People
- 🔢 You may not exceed the authorized number of seats (children aged 2–12 count as adults).
- 🚫 Children under 12 may not ride in front if the vehicle has more than 8 seats.
- 🎒 Ages 5 to 11 must use a booster cushion + seat belt.
- 👤 One person per seat, always in designated seating areas.
- 🚚 In goods vehicles, people may travel in the cargo area only with authorization and safety measures.
- 🚲 Bicycles ridden by adults may carry one child (up to 7 years) in an approved child seat.
- 🛵 Children ≥ 12 may ride as passengers on motorcycles or mopeds if on the rear seat and wearing a helmet.
- 👨👧 Exception: children ≥ 7 may ride if the rider is the parent/guardian, with a helmet mandatory.
🪖 Mandatory Helmet and Protection
A type-approved helmet must be worn by drivers and passengers of:
- 🛵 Motorcycles
- 🛺 Mopeds
- 🔺 Three-wheelers or quadricycles
❌ Exempt: vehicles with a self-protection structure plus seat belt.
🚴 For bicycles, helmets are mandatory on interurban roads (except on steep climbs, in extreme heat, or for medical reasons).
📦 Load Rules
- ⚖️ The load must not protrude, fall off, or compromise stability.
- 🔩 Metal loads must be properly secured.
- 🧱 Debris must be carried in closed, secured containers.
- ☠️ Hazardous materials must be carried in a sealed vehicle.
- 🐕 Pets must travel in the rear, separated by a net or crate, without sticking their head out.
- 📛 The load must not obscure lights or license plates.
📐 Maximum Permitted Dimensions
| 🚛 Type | 📏 Maximum Length |
|---|---|
| Trailers | 12 m |
| Articulated buses | 18 m |
| Buses with trailer | 18.75 m |
| Road trains with support | 20.55 m |
📏 Maximum width: 2.55 m (or 2.60 m for specially conditioned vehicles).
🏗️ Maximum height: 4 m.
Vehicles over 12 m must carry a rear yellow-and-red plate.
🚫 Restriction Signs
- 📛 R-203: length limit
- 📛 R-204: width limit
- 📛 R-205: height limit
⚠️ Indivisible loads require special authorization. If they exceed 3 m in width or 20.55 m in length → a pilot/escort vehicle is mandatory.
📦 Loading and Unloading
- 🔇 Always with the engine off.
- ⬅️ Carry out from the side closest to the edge of the roadway.
- 🏙️ In urban areas: park on the right (two-way streets) or on the left (one-way streets).
🚨 Load Signaling
- 💡 Daytime: only signal if it protrudes at the rear → red/white panel.
- 🌙 Night: lights (white in front, red at the rear) + reflectors.
- ⛔ If it protrudes in width: panels in an inverted V shape.
- ☢️ Dangerous goods: orange panels. If there is no number = unspecified.
⚠️ If the Load Falls
If the load falls:
- 🚨 Switch on hazard lights.
- 🛑 Place warning triangles.
- 🧹 Use the shoulder or median if necessary to remove it.
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