Wheel-loss discharge
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• A haulier was granted an absolute discharge after magistrates accepted evidence that a major tyre company was responsible for a wheel-loss incident,
Loughborough magistrates accepted that an ATS fitter had over-tightened the wheel nuts, causing the studs to sheer.
Anton Balkitis, defending, told the court that Dover-based RP Greaves Car Delivery had carried out the proper checks and both the driver and the company had done all that they could. Director Roger Patrick Greaves and his driver were given absolute discharges.
They had been charged with using a vehicle in a dangerous condition after the rear nearside twin wheels came off on the MI northbound last November. The wheels had bounced over the central reservation and hit a pickup truck, smashing its windscreen and crushing the roof The driver escaped with minor injuries.
Balkitis, from Nottingham-based transport solicitors Rothera Dowson, says: "We are aware that wheel loss is common but just now and again the magistrates do accept that blame must rest with tyre companies rather than operators."
• Haulier W Jacques and Sons was granted an absolute discharge after Lincoln magistrates accepted that it had done everything it could to check its wheel studs. Loose studs were discovered at a roadside check on the Al5 near Scampton, Lines last November.