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Brake fault driver wins absolute discharge
Page 35
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CHELMSFORD MAGISTRATES ordered that 75% of the defence costs of Essex truck driver Patrick Woolerton be paid out of public funds after they gave him an absolute discharge for using a vehicle with defective brakes.
At the start of the hearing the prosecution withdrew a charge of careless driving and amended a charge of using a vehicle with brakes in a dangerous condition to one of using a vehicle with defective brakes in that the ABS warning light was not working.
Appearing for Woolerton, who was employed by Ontime Service Garage, Murray Oliver showed the magistrates an article from Commercial Motor describing Ontime's heavy recovery work and showing one of its vehicles.
Oliver told the magistrates that on the day of the Dfience Woolerton had been sent out with such a vehicle, but had been unhappy with it and a replacement had been supplied.
He added that a warning light lit up if the ABS did lot work. When the vehicle was started up all the warning lights would glow to indicate they were operating correctly; then they went out, unless there was a fault. However, neither the ABS nor the warning light were working. If Woolerton had turned the engine on he would have spotted this, but as the vehicle was delivered to him as a replacement, with the engine running, he had no way of knowing the bulb did not work.
A charge against company secretary Paul Scott of using a vehicle with brakes in a dangerous condition was dropped and magistrates ordered his defence costs to be paid out of public funds.