Absolute discharge for Mercer
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1 • Press cuttings of cases reported in Commercial Motor helped Michael Mercer, trading as Basingstoke Skip Hire, win an absolute discharge from Bedford magistrates after he had admitted using a trailer with brakes that didn't work.
Charges were brought after one of Mercer's trailers flipped onto its side and a police examination showed the yellow line connection from the tractor unit to the semitrailer was fitted with a tap which had not been turned on.
The red line tap had been turned on, and the prosecution accepted that the driver must have done that when connecting the unit and trailer. Just why he had not turned the yellow line tap on was unclear. Mercer said the driver concerned was an experienced man who regularly drove that vehicle. He must have turned the tap in the cab off after the trailer had been separated overnight for a minor repair to be carried out.
The incident had been solely due to the driver failing to turn the tap on when reconnecting the trailer to the tractor unit before driving for 80 miles to the scene of the accident.
John Backhouse, defending, said inspection records showed the vehicle and trailer were well maintained at proper intervals.
He showed magistrates several reports in CM of cases where the courts had followed the principle laid down by the High Court in the case of Hart vs Bex that an absolute discharge was appropriate where the defendants were neither blameworthy nor negligent in cases involving offences of absolute liability, such as this