FAIR ENOUGH?
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• That eternal schoolboy Tom Brown never wanted anything ". . . but what's right and fair". In a fair and just world if an operator's truck is found to be exceeding gross or axle limits by more than the permitted margin, and he has not applied sufficient due diligence to avoid the offence, then he deserves to be prosecuted. What's more if he has deliberately tried to profit from his overloading he should have the book thrown at him. That is, after all, only fair.
The problem is, are dynamic axle weighers fair? According to the Road Haulage Association, which spent a not inconsiderable length of time monitoring Department of Transport-run weighers: "There are not the variations we thought there were and we will have to concede that the system is fair." So far so good — but are they consistent?
This week's lead story once again highlights the problems caused by varying results from a dynamic axle weigher.
It is almost irrelevant as to whether a problem is caused by the weighbridge site, the weigh beam itself, or the state of the vehicle passing over it at the time. The net result is that many hauliers simply don't trust such equipment.
For the professional haulier trying to operate within the law, and trying equally hard to ensure that his vehicle is not underloaded, many view it as a matter of "damned if you do, damned if you don't". Meanwhile, unscrupulous hauliers trying to wriggle out of a justifiable prosecution for blatant overloading will welcome any question mark over consistency.
It is only right that a haulier should have the chance to have a vehicle re-weighed when a dynamic axle weigher indicates an overload, but if the accuracy of such weighing equipment was beyond doubt then a check-weigh would be unnecessary.
If the enforcement authorities are to win the battle against deliberate overloaders, the tools they use must be respected by law-abiding hauliers. You really can't say fairer than that.