'Over range' on weigher
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fl• Basingstoke
magistrates fined Powys haulier John Lewis £750 after convicting him of using an artic which weighed more than 40 tonnes although there was some argument over the accuracy and suitability of the weighbridge.
The magistrates were told that the timber carrying vehicle was stopped by police on the Farnham to Basingstoke road and directed to a local authority weighbridge. The weighbridge was restricted to 40 tonnes and when the vehicle was put on the plate, "over range" was recorded, which indicated that the train weight was over 40 tonnes. The driver, John Lewis, was asked to separate the tractor and trailer so they could be weighed separately, but he refused because he was anxious about the state of the landing legs, one of which was damaged.
Questioned by Jonathan Lawton, defending, both police officers said that there were no instructions as to how the weigh bridge was to be used for split weighing. And Trading Standards officers had never confirmed that it was suitable for that purpose.
Neither had surveyed the approaches to the plate and they were not able to say when the weighbridge had last been tested for accuracy.
Lewis said the vehicle had been loaded in a forest at Farnham and the job had been completed soon after 20:00hrs.
There was no weighbridge in Farnham and the cafe he had intended going to was shut Consequently, he decided to go to an industrial estate in Basingstoke where he knew he could safely leave the vehicle, and where there was a weighbridge which would be open the following morning.
Lawton argued that there was no evidence that the weighbridge used by the police was accurate. Though the police had said that they habitually used the weighbridge for split weighing, that did not make the procedure correct. In any event, Lewis was entitled to the defence that he was proceeding to the nearest available weighbridge to check his weight