• In another case involving loose wheels. Castleford magistrates granted
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an absolute discharge to Morris Brothers (Bircotes), and one of its drivers after the company admitted using a vehicle in a dangerous condition when one of its four-axle tippers lost a wheel on the M62.
The prosecution said that the outer nearside wheel on the third axle had become detached. Evidence was given that the company had a good maintenance system and the driver said he had tightened the nuts on the wheel concerned about 19km (12 miles) before the accident occurred.
Consulting engineer Ivan Ratcliffe, however, said there was no apparent reason for the failure. It almost always involved the nearside wheels and in his experience wheels had come off within eight kilometres (five miles) of the wheel nuts having been tightened.
Gary Hodgson, defending, referred the magistrates to High Court and Crown Court decisions that laid down that penalties should only be imposed for absolute offences such as this when there was some blame attached to the defendant.
The company and driver were also given an absolute discharge in regard to a defective tyre on the second nearside steering axle after evidence was given that the tyre had been changed four working days previously and that damage to the track rod end had caused excessive wear on one side of the vehicle's tyre during the journey.