BR' Weighbridge challenged
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• A Lincolnshire haulier has lost his challenge that the Boston Spa dynamic axle weighbridge did not weigh special types vehicles accurately.
In what was regarded as a test case, Alford haulier Ian Houlgrave, and self-employed driver Gerald Goodhand, denied exceeding the permitted 38,000kg train weight of an articulated lowloader carrying a pea harvester.
West Yorkshire stipendiary magistrate David Loy heard the combination had been found to weigh 41,980kg, an overload of 3,980kg (10.5%). The defence pointed out that the length of the approach to the weighbeam was 17 metres and the combination was 17.28 metres in length.
lithe combination had been stopped six metres before the weighbeam, the entire trailer could not have been on the concrete apron, as required by the code of practice. Houlgrave main tamed it was a physical impossibility for the combination to have weighed almost 42 tonnes, Peter Lash, technical director of Axle Weight Technology, did not accept that this vehicle was too long to be accurately weighed at Boston Spa.
Evidence was given by Road Haulage Association consultant surveyor Maurice Vandorne that he found deviations in surface levels and if this was so when multiple axles were weighed the readings would be incorrect.
Convicting both men, Loy said he had been satisfied with the explanation of why the machine had failed to zero —a traffic examiner had driven over the edge of the weighbeam in his car. l'here had been a further 23 weighings and on each occasion the machine had calibrated to zero. He did not accept the breaches of the code of practice had affected the accuracy of the weighbridge. The bridge had been tested and found accurate on dates either side of the date of the check weighing.
The cause of the overload had not been revealed, said Loy, but he was satisfied the vehicle was overweight and the weighbridge was not at fault.
Houlgrave was fined £150 and ordered to pay £4,000 prosecution costs, and Goodhand was fined 135.