One in ten overloaded
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• Nearly one in 10 lorries stopped by Trading Standards Officers in Gloucestershire last year was overloaded, according to latest figures.
Of 1,467 lorries checked in 1994/95, 139 were overloaded, says county trading standards officer Paul Galland.
Budget restrictions had forced Gloucestershire to abandon overloading spot checks in 1993/94, which appeared to allow the number of lawbreakers to increase.
Galland says: "When we first resumed the checks the overloaders made up more than 15 of those we stopped, but this then fell back to about 9% a month.
But I believe there are more than 9% of lorries overloaded," he adds, "because the drivers learn the places they are likely to be stopped and avoid them. The real figure could be much higher."