The Number That Runs Kenyan Load Law: 3,500 kg

One figure recurs across Kenyan and East African load regulation: 3,500 kg. Under the East African Community Vehicle Load Control framework, every vehicle with a GVW exceeding 3,500 kg must be weighed at a weighbridge — and evading, bypassing or absconding from a weighing station is itself an offence, covered in Weighbridges & the Law.

The threshold does double duty, which is why it's worth memorising as the load-law number:

Below 3,500 kg GVW → light-vehicle territory (Category B), no mandatory weighbridge.
Above 3,500 kg GVW → commercial load-control territory: mandatory weighing, axle limits, and the enforcement machinery that comes with them.

It's the same 3,500 kg that bounds Category B in Vehicle Categories — the licensing system and the load-control system share the line, because the threshold that changes what you may drive is the threshold that changes what you must comply with when loaded.

Key takeaways

3,500 kg GVW is the master threshold: above it, weighing at a weighbridge is mandatory and the commercial load-control regime applies
It's the same line that bounds Category B — one figure governing both what you may drive and what you must comply with loaded

Quick check

Why does a driver need to know whether their loaded vehicle's GVW crosses 3,500 kg?

A) Because above it the speed limit changes

B) Because below it no payload limit applies

C) Because above 3,500 kg GVW, weighing at a weighbridge becomes mandatory and the commercial load-control regime applies — and it's the same line that separates Category B from the commercial licence categories

D) Because it determines the insurance tier