Final answer:
Weight limits ensure safety and prevent structural damage. Vehicles exceeding weight limits should not proceed for safety reasons. For example, a vehicle that is too heavy could damage a water taxi or exceed bridge weight restrictions.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering whether vehicles exceeding a certain weight limit should proceed, we must understand the concept of weight limits in the context of engineering and safety. Weight limits are there to prevent damage to structures such as bridges, and to ensure the safety of vehicles occupying a specific space, like on a water taxi. For example, if a bridge has a weight limit of 5 tons, this means that any vehicle that exceeds this weight should not proceed across the bridge. If 20 men have a combined weight greater than 3,500 pounds, and this exceeds the safety limits for water taxis, it is a safety concern because the total weight may damage the vessel or affect its stability.
If a truck of mass 1.2 tons is parked on a hill, it meets the weight requirement to proceed down a hill if the limit is 5 tons. However, if a battery for an electric vehicle weighs 17,000 kg, and the maximum cargo load of a vehicle is about 20 tons, then nearly 85% of the cargo capacity is used up by the battery. This would considerably limit the capacity to carry additional weight and could mean that the vehicle might have to carry less to proceed safely without exceeding specified weight limits. Understanding the importance of not exceeding these limits is crucial to maintaining safety and infrastructure integrity.