Danger, VERY wide loads: Chinese drivers push their vehicles to the
limit with hilariously huge cargoes
By Olivia Williams
PUBLISHED: 17:56 GMT, 19 February 2013 | UPDATED: 18:46 GMT, 19 February 2013
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It is surely a recipe for
disaster, but many Chinese motorists cannot resist the urge to pile
their tricycles and trucks as high as they possibly can while they move
their goods - and families - across town.
Seemingly
relaxed, these pictures show drivers on Chinese roads going about their
daily business with alarming volumes of precarious cargo tottering
above their heads.
Pictures from across China show
ridiculously heavy trucks leaning at unusual angles, and tractors
stacked 15-foot-high with recycled bottles and plastic negotiating roads
full of traffic.
These motorists give the term "wide load" a whole new meaning.
Cushioned landing: This truck is clearly
battling with its load as it veers along a national highway in Hai'an,
China but it looks as though it would have a soft landing if it did
keel over
Steady as he goes: A truck driver keeps his
precarious logs in place, but has to stop to explain to a traffic
police officer in Nanchang, China
Precious cargo: A fearless bike rider has his goods and family piled
above his head as he pedals hard down the street
Spot the driver: A mound of polystyrene boxes on a street in Xi'an
Hanging out: This pair look unperturbed by the bag towering above
their motorcycle in Nanjing
Heavy load: A collector pushes a tricycle carrying bags of recyclable
waste in Shanghai
Amused: A fellow cyclist laughs at her the collector with his enormous
baggage in Shanghai
A load of rubbish: A collector of recyclable waste in pushes along his
enormous plastic bottle collection in Shanghai
Tricky manoeuvre: Bundled up polystyrene boxes
in Xi'an make it difficult for other motorists to get around without
causing an accident
Squashed family outing: A family squeezes under mounds of plastic bags
that are nearly scraping the ground in Taiyuan
The images that were taken from across
China, including cities such as Shanghai, Shouguang as-well-as rural
Huai-an, show that fellow road-users have to be very weary of these
heavy loaders - there could be disastrous cases of lost-loads and
accidents clogging up the roads. could strike in the form of a giant
lost-load.
Chinese photographer An Fu, 44, explained what it was like to witness
real-life bulk carriers at their most laden.
'These carriers are dangerous,' said An.
'Sometimes they fall over into the road or the driver is stopped by
the police because they're overloaded.'
'Drivers load their vehicles with so many goods because they need to
carry as many goods as possible to save money and time.'
There have been several recent high profile accidents because of this
overloading problem.
Last
year, a Chinese driver whose truck was so heavy the bridge he drove on
collapsed was sent the nearly £16m bill for the repair work.
Uphill struggle: A rubbish collector battles along the road in Yuyao, China
The long and winding cargo: An motor tricycle negotiates a main road
in Guiyang with coils of wound-up household materials
Careful taking corners: the motor tricycle in Guiyang has coils of
plastic spilling out both right and left
Uncomfortable ride: A man and his companion ride a tricycle engulfed
by bags of plastic foam
Soldiering on her with her heavy load: a woman moves innumerable
plastic boxes through Shanghai on her tricycle
Look out behind you: The woman in Shanghai with
all her boxes on her bike does not have a hope of seeing traffic coming
behind her
The authorities are serious about clamping down on the tradition,
however cost-effective it is.
'They
always need to cut the costs of fuel from multiple trips and like the
rest of us time is money for these hard-workers,' An said.
'Many drivers don't have the best vehicles to distribute recycling and
other goods they need to transport.'
'So they make the best of what they have.'
Not just piling it up, but piling it back: An electric tricycle moves
slowly through Zhuji
Overloaded from the front and side: This little lorry is lost
underneath it cargo as it winds through the busy Chinese rush hour
Relaxed despite the danger: A driver smokes a cigarette while his
tractor lugs bags of paddy rice in Huai'an, China
Mind the crossing: This man in Beijing looks worryingly close to be
being squashed under the load above his head
An accident waiting to happen: A truck comes to a standstill on a
national highway in Hai'an
Neatly stacked: An orderly though huge stack of bags in Shouguang
