Joint liability for overloads
Page 35
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IT HAS OCCURRED to me that a very rapid solution to the problem of overloading, apart from the load distribution aspect, would be to make the consignor and/or the consignee jointly liable with the driver and operator.
A lot of consignors, particularly in the fruit and veg field, operate on a "fixed quantity, unit load" system. They have discovered that 960 bags of potatoes, or 1,000 cases of oranges, can be loaded on a lightweight trailer, pulled by a stripped-out, under-powered day-cab tractor, with a five-stone driver and no fuel, can just squeeze legally over the weighbridge, provided it doesn't start to rain, and they base their rates on these quantities.
If an operator attempts to run with less than the unit load, he is penalised to the point where the job is no longer viable, if, indeed, he doesn't lose the job completely. It takes a very strong-minded operator or driver to stand up to this sort of blackmail.
The scheme could even cover international work in both directions, but obviously only at the UK end.
MIKE TAYLOR Borough Green Kent