AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Lenient penalty after over loading

24th March 1972, Page 29
24th March 1972
Page 29
Page 29, 24th March 1972 — Lenient penalty after over loading
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• An Aberdeen haulage company; Albert S. Walker of Dusksdum, had one of its 11 vehicles removed from its licence, for two weeks, by the Scottish LA, Mr A. B. Birnie at a public hearing in Aberdeen last week.

Mr Albert Walker had pleaded guilty to overloading in March last year, when he was fined £15 on each of two offences and again in November when he was fined £25 on each of a further two offences.

For Mr Walker, Mr F. Lefevre said that on the first occasion a driver had fixed up a return load which was overweight. The driver had been sacked immediately it had come to light that instructions had been contravened, On the second occasion, and while Mr Walker was in hospital, a driver taking a lorry south from Aberdeen had changed trailers with another company vehicle coming north. The offences had been committed because only the trailers had been changed and the vehicles were plated to different tonnages.

Drivers with the firm had now been given special instructions about this and Mr Walker now had only one type of vehicle, so that the trouble should not occur again.

Mr Walker told the LA that if the drivers felt loads were overweight they were immediately checked. This had been done with one load, he said, when concrete blocks had been taken on in heavy rain and were found to be more than seven tons overweight.

Mr Bimie said that it was his duty to take some action under Section 69 but in the circumstances the penalty should be a lenient one.