Police broke bridge rules
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• Middlesbrough magistrates have thrown out overloading charges against haulier Beck & Pollitzer because police ignored Department of Transport guidelines on vehicle weighing.
A Beck & Pollitzer STGO artic had been stopped because the company had not given correct notification of the movement.
Police ordered the vehicle to the static weighbridge at ICI Cassell, which is often used by enforcement authorities. Because the artic was too heavy for a single weigh, tractor and trailer axles were weighed separately. Failing to notify an STGO movement is not an offence, but the company was charged with gross weight and axle overloads.
Defending, Jonathan Lawton said that, contrary to DTP guidelines, the weighbridge had not been tested twice yearly and had not been tested for split weighing. Also, the officer doing the check did not have written instructions on split weighing.
The company was also charged with running an overwidth vehicle, but that prosecution failed due to an incor
rectly worded summons.
Beck & Pollitzer had to pay its own costs, however: the magistrates said it was at fault for failing to provide police with the correct notification. Trucks stall • Truck manufacturers are continuing to feel the brunt of the recession. Last month CV production was down on April 1990 by 31%, to 17,311, according to latest SMMT figures. January-April production was down by more than 20%.