Wrong combination means heavy fines
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FINES totalling £1,725 were imposed on A. L. Crawford & Sons Ltd and the company's managing director and a driver by the Morley, Nest Yorkshire magistrates last week after they had admitted aperating an illegal combination of a "heavy motor car" and two Jolly trailers.
The prosecution brought by he police involved the moverent of two lengthy concrete )eams to the Windscale power ;teflon by Volvo F89 tractive inits with load-spreading dollies rttached to the tractive units vith the beams supported at the ear by three-axle steering dolies.
The company's managing lirector, Ian Crawford, drove me of the vehicles. He admitted o using an overlength vehicle, a leavy motor car towing two railers, no plates on the loadpreading dolly, no plate on the ear dolly, and to exceeding the iross train and axle weights. He was fined £275.
The driver of the second ehicle, John Empson, admitted using an overlength vehicle, a eavy motor car towing two railers, no plate on the loadpreading dolly, and to exceedig the gross train and axle ;eights. He was fined £155.
The company admitted correponding offences and was ned £1,295.
For the prosecution, it was said let the beams were abnormal nd indivisible loads, and the vehicles were ostensibly operating under the Authorisation of Special Types Order, being 29 metres long. The combinations consisted of two-axled tractive units with a single-axle loadspreading bogie, with a fifth wheel platform which was attached to the fifth wheel of the tractive unit. The concrete beams were supported at the rear by another dolly trailer.
It was an illegal combination because the tractive unit was hauling two trailers. Because of that, and because the company had failed to notify the police and the highway authority of the movement, the special types did not apply. Consequently, the vehicles fell within the Construction and Use Regulations, and hence the overlength and overloading offences.
The vehicles were being driven along the M62 when they were observed by police officers and Department of Transport traffic examiners.
In mitigation, Mr Crawford said that he had understood that he was able to use the vehicles and dolly trailers in such combinations as there was a "special type plate" provided by Volvo.