Newhaven dock blamed for overload conviction
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• The serious inadequacies of the weighing facilities at Newhaven docks were ;tressed during a Section 69 inquiry at Eastbourne last week when a company was alled before the South Eastern LA because )f overloading and records convictions.
Mr E. Kite, a director of the firm, J. B. :,each (Eastbourne) Ltd, said the company )perated 20 vehicles and seven trailers. Two 'ull-time fitters and two local garages were ised to maintain the vehicles.
Al! the offences occurred during a hree-week period when Mr Kite was ill and ince the convictions a clerk has been ;mployed to look after all records work, vith the additional safeguard of weekly nspections by Mr Kite. Referring to one • verloading offence at Nottingham, Mr Kite aid that a vehicle was stopped and found o be overweight on the front axle by 30cwt tlthough only 5cwt on gross weight. ['his, said Mr Kite, was because the load had shifted.
Mr Kite explained that a lot of goods, particularly vegetables, were carried out of Newhaven and since the offences two experienced shunters were employed to try to avoid overloading because of the minimal weighing facilities at the dock.
Other convictions that were considered by the LA, Maj-Gen A. F. J. Elmslie, were at Cheltenham when fines of £95 on four convictions concerning bad maintenance were imposed. Maintenance records concerning two vehicles were shown to the LA as evidence and he pointed out several discrepancies in one set of these records.
The LA said it was interesting to find that there was something of. everything in the offences committed but he was disturbed to find the discrepancies in the firm's maintenance records. He decided to curtail the licence by the deletion of one vehicle for a period of three months.