Evidence backs driver
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• An ownerdriver has been convicted of driving without due care and atten tion after his vehicle toppled over on a bend — despite a tachograph expert's evidence that he was only doing 27mph (43km/h).
Halifax magistrates heard that Alan Woodward's artic was loaded with bales of wool; as he turned a 90° bend on a slight slope it toppled and its load dropped on three cars.
Three motorists said they saw the load come off as it went round the corner. An officer from West Yorkshire police accident investigation branch said an examination of Woodward's tachograph showed that be had been doing 37mph (59km,11.) and had tried to take the bend too fast.
Woodward said he could not have gone above 31mph (50kmiti) in the gear he was using. He said the load must have shifted; he had negotiated that corner many times without a problem. He had checked that the 20-tonne load was properly roped and sheeted before moving off.
Tacho expert Nigel Kirtwmd said examination of the chart showed that the vehicle was doing only 27mph (43kmib) when it toppled. As the wheels left the surface the speed trace had risen because the tacho recorded the speed at which the wheels were turning — this was clear because the trace was vertical. No IIGV could accelerate that fast, he said.
Defending, Gary Hodgson said witnesses had indicated that the load might have shifted. There was no evidence that Woodward had driven round the bend so fast that he lost control.
Woodward was fined £100, with £95 costs, and had his IIGV driving licence endorsed with three points.