Operator 'overloaded 770 times'
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r51A Welsh haulier is alleged to 700 overloading offences have committed more than
after downplating his vehicles to save on vehicle excise duty John Ceri Evans, trading as J&E Evans, of Dyffryn Ardudwy, appeared before the Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon at a disciplinary inquiry in Birmingham.
Evans holds a licence for nine vehicles and nine trailers and traffic examiner Geoffrey Whitley told the commissioner that an investigation started after one of his vehicles lost a pair of road wheels on the A55 an the Isle of Anglesey The vehicle was being used to carry aggregates to the Llandegi/Holyhead road construction project.
A weight ticket in the cab showed the load was 31 tonnes, although the vehicle was taxed at 27 tonnes.
The ministry plate showed a weight of 32 tonnes but enquiries revealed that this vehicle and five others had been downplated to 27 tonnes in March 1997, saving £1,617 a year in vehicle excise , duty per vehicle. Evans agreed to produce tachograph records but, on the morning they were to meet, Evans telephoned to say they had been put in the cab of a vehicle which later caught fire and the records were destroyed. In any circumstances, a fire destroying tachograph records was extremely suspicious, said Whitley He told the commissioner that 770 weighbridge tickets could be produced to substantiate the overloading allegations.
Asked by John Parsons, for Evans, whether he was saying that Evans was a swindler, an arsonist and a dishonest operator, Whitley replied that he had made allegations. He agreed that he had not asked the fire service about the cause of the fire and that there was nothing illegal in downplating vehicles.
Whitley said that when Evans was interviewed he had said that it was not done for financial gain as he was paid by the hour and he would have benefited more if he had carried less. He had said that he was 100% sure that someone had been fiddhng with the vehicle involved in the accident. He had said that the drivers knew of the downplated weights and he should not have to take all the blame.
Vehicle examiner David Collings said that after the accident two immediate and four delayed prohibitions were issued to Evans' vehicles, two of which related to defective speed limiters.
When submitted for clearance, two vehicles were given variation notices listing a further 13 defects.
Evans' evidence was heard in camera in case it was prejudicial in any criminal proceedings.
The commissioner will announce his decision in writing later.