Before getting into the nitty gritty of Over Dimensional Cargo shipment or “ODC”, it is important to understand that cargos are classified as such for the specific purpose of road safety of commuters. Government by qualifying a cargo as ODC brings it within the ambit of certain rules and regulations that eliminates the possibility of any unsafe practices and accidents.
In simplest terms, ODC or Over Dimensional Cargo is a cargo protruding from the trailer of the truck. For example, if a truck trailer with a loading platform of length is 20 feet is carrying iron girders of 22 feet length, then the cargo falls under the category of Over-Dimension Cargo. On the other hand, if the same girders were placed on a trailer of length 22 feet, it would have qualified as a normal cargo.
A cargo is classified as ODC transportation in order to prevent transporters from claiming economic benefits given by the Government even when they are carrying normal cargo. ODC cargo poses significant risks to the safety of other vehicles and people using the road. As such, the general practice is to prevent such practices by encouraging transporters and businesses to use larger vehicles to transport these heavy consignments.
In case of length and width too, the Indian government has provided upper limits. This stands 12 meters length for Rigid Trucks, 16 meters length for articulated vehicles (also called Trailers) and 2.6 meters width for all vehicles.