TC issues warning Fine for overloaded artic
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Exceeding the permitted train weight of a 38-tonne artic cost Oswestry-based Pentons Haulage & Cold Storage and one of the cornpary's drivers £770 in fines and costs.
The company and driver Raymond Cottom pleaded guilty to the offence when they appeared before the Bath magistrates.
Trading standards officer Jeremy Parsons said the vehicle was stopped in a check last December and weighed on a dynamic-axle weigher. The permitted train weight had been exceeded by 1,940kg (51%).
Defending, Andrew Woolfall said the vehicle had been transporting pallets of cheese as part of a regular contract with Dairy Crest. The agreement was that the vehicles would carry 20 pallets of a specified weight. Dairy Crest was responsible for loading the vehicle, and the driver was not allowed to be present. The 20 pallets had been overloaded by Dairy Crest staff. Pentons made no profit out of such an offence, being paid by the journey and not by the weight of the load.
Cottom had made a full inspection of the vehicle and had seen nothing wrong, said Woolfall.
There had been no problems with the way the vehicle handled, and he had seen no reason to check the weight. This had been a six-axied artic, and if the allowance of plus or minus 150kg per axle was taken into account, the overload might in fact have been only 1,0004 if the incident had occurred after 5 January there would have been no offence, as the outfit could have run quite legally at 41 tonnes.
The magistrates fined the company £500 and ordered it to pay 2120 prosecution costs. They fined Cottom £100 with £50 costs.