Walon cleared in brakes case
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Plymouth magistrates have cleared car transporter operator Walon of using a vehicle with defective brakes and the magistrates ordered that the company defence costs be paid out of public funds.
Constable Coornbes of the Devon Police said that on 19 May he attended the scene of an accident in which a number of vehicles had been involved, including a car transporter belonging to WaIon. DOT Vehicle examiner John Barnes said he had examined the vehicle the following day and found a hole in the brake service feed pipe which was big enough to make the vehicle's brakes useless.
In reply to Jonathan Lawton, defending, Barnes said that he had not seen the vehicle previously. It was not possible to say when the hole appeared.
Lawton said that while it might be suspected that there was a relationship between the defect and the accident, there was no evidence to support that suspicion. There was no evidence to suggest that the vehicle's brakes were the cause of the accident.
The vehicle had been recovered, an operation about which nothing was known, and it had not been seen by the vehicle examiner until the following day. The defect could have occurred at any time.