'Overloading pays' — sheriff
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A SCOTTISH sheriff claimed at Perth recently that it was in the interests of employers that their drivers should carry more than the permitted weight on their vehicles as it enabled them to transport more material and so make a substantially greater profit.
Sheriff John McInnes was dealing with the case of James Allison Gourlay, of Glenfarg, who admitted that on December 2, on Dunkeld Road, Perth, he used a 3.5-tonne lorry with a 4.04-tonne gvw and its 2.6-tonne rear axle weight, was run at 3.6 tonnes.
A plea of not,guilty from his employer, Davidson and Smith of Glenfarg, was accepted. An agent told the sheriff that Gourlay had been told by his employers that this was not to happen again.
Sheriff McInnes commented: "The problem with this sort of offence is that it is very much in the employers' interest that their drivers should do it because they can transport a great deal more material in the time available and consequently make a substantially greater profit.