Family firm fined for speed faults
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Using a vehicle with a defective speed limiter has cost father and son Edwin and Malcolm Houston 1,675 in fines and costs.
The two men each pleaded guilty to 11 offences of using a vehicle with a defective speed limiter. Wrexham magistrates heard that Malcolm had been driving a vehicle on behalf of his Northrop-based father along the Abb Expressway when it was stopped in a check. Peter Edwards, prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, said that when Malcolm Houston produced his tachograph records it was clear that the speed limiter system was not functioning. An examination of the engine compartment revealed that the security plug had been removed and the wires crimped together.
In defence, Tim Culpin claimed speed limiters did not govern the speed accurately, as the speed could creep up when going down hill. Strangely, speed limiters were not part of the annual test or the recommended preventive maintenance inspections.
He told the court that the wires had parted due to corrosion and no security plug had been fitted when the vehicle was acquired. The only way an operator could detect a speed limiter was not working was by an examination of the tachograph charts, he added, and in this case the charts did not show any evidence of deliberate speeding.