AN EVEN BREAK
Page 3
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• The news that the Vehicle Inspectorate is adopting a more lenient approach to overloaded lorries must be welcome — few issues cause hauliers more problems than inconsistent enforcement of the vehicle weight rules.
As part of its operator-friendly approach, the VI is expected to agree to operators making appointments to have their trucks checked at DTp weighbridges. Hauliers or drivers would go voluntarily if they have any reason to expect that they may be overloaded.
Drivers of vehicles found to be excessively over the limit might still be brought to book — which sounds a bit like a turkey inviting himself for Christmas dinner — but it is at least a step in the right direction for the Inspectorate.
Let's hope local authority Trading Standards officers have the good sense to follow the VI lead.
Elsewhere in this week's issue (page 36) we highlight the problem faced by Taunton haulier Bob Chmiewliski, whose driver had to hang around outside a Trading Standards weighbridge which he (and his on-board weigher) believed had given a wrong reading, until a senior official turned up and let the truck go with its full load.
No one is suggesting that hauliers are angels who never break the law. But it is good to see an attempt to give them an even break.