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Overloading leads to 0-licence suspension
Page 22
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Wolverhampton-based haulier has 01} had its 0-licence suspended despite giving undertakings at a public inquiry.
AN OPERATOR THAT continued to overload its trucks, despite giving undertakings at a public inquiry, has had its licence suspended for a month.
Wolverhampton-based STB Foods appeared before the West Midlands Deputy Traffic Commissioner Miles Dorrington. The company holds a twovehicle restricted licence.
STB had appeared at a public inquiry in 2007, when its licence was suspended for 14 days because of three overloading prohibitions and two convictions.
At that time, an undertaking was given that the company would install equipment within a month that would accurately measure the weight of vehicles before they left the site.
Since then, there had been four further prohibitions for gross overloads. On three occasions, the vehicles were being driven by one of the company's directors. The company had also been fined £2,000, and director Balbir Singh £265 for overloading. Singh said that the weighbridge equipment had been installed, but it had not been accurate and that the staff had not used it properly.
There had been no overloading problems since the directors had loaded the trucks and calculated the weights. Account had not been taken of the weight of the pallets and of the driver and his assistant.
Singh now checked the weight of vehicles before they left. He accepted that vehicles had been overloaded for commercial gain (CM 18 June).
Suspending the licence, the DTC said the firm had been in breach of the specific undertakings given at the last public inquiry. The failure was a long-standing one because the last overloading prohibition was imposed more than 18 months after the inquiry.
Singh had failed to exercise proper management control to ensure that vehicles were not overloaded. The conduct of the firm's directors was unacceptable. However, systems now seemed to be in place to stop vehicles from being overloaded in future. He gave credit to Singh for being open and honest about what had happened, for not trying to hide any facts, and making no attempt to lie or deceive him.
He warned, however, that the firm should regard this as the last chance, and should understand that if it is called to public inquiry again within five years, it could expect revocation and the consideration of lengthy periods of disqualification, unless there were truly exceptional circumstances.