Council blames drivers for weight breaches By Chris Tindall SHROPSHIRE
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
COUNCIL has said it isn't prepared to prosecute haulage firms whose vehicles breach weight restrictions because it is the LGV drivers who are committing the offence.
The comments came after four lorry drivers were fined at Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court last month (12 April) for repeatedly breaking the 7.5-tonne weight limits on roads in the town. They received fines ranging from £80 to £175 and were ordered to pay costs of £130 each.
Frances Darling, the council's public protection service manager, urged hauliers to pay attention to weight limits, but added: "It is the drivers who commit the offence by using the vehicle along a weightrestricted road. Enquiries are made with haulage companies to establish driver details, and then drivers are given every opportunity to provide an explanation before a decision is taken on the level of enforcement action taken."
Darling added that it would normally only consider prosecuting haulage firms when it can be proven that drivers were instructed to breach orders.
Shropshire Council's strategy is in contrast to Wiltshire's trading standards team, which has prosecuted a number of well-known haulage firms, including Eddie Stobart, since last October for offences including breach of the weight limit on Bradford-on-Avon's historic bridge. Although Wiltshire Council has continued on this course, last month (2 April) an LGV driver for Morrison Utility Services had the questionable honour of becoming the first individual to be prosecuted for breaching a weight limit in Bradford-on-Avon, alongside his employer.