A2 check collars 340
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• More than 340 vehicle offences were uncovered on the A2 at Falconwood last week, when the police and transport officials staged a roadside vehicle check.
The five-hour operation, involving the inspection of around 700 vehicles, led to the immediate prohibition of seven vehicles, including a coach where the floor of the luggage space had rusted through completely (see Page 54).
More than 190 vehicles were improperly taxed, and a further 35 vehicles were stopped for a total of 103 tachograph offences.
Nine vehicles were stopped for overloading offences and one Belgian camper van was seized for lack of adequate documentation. One articulated lorry was also seized by Customs and Excise officials for running on red diesel.
Inspector Colin Clark, who led the traffic blitz, said: "The check has been very profitable. It's a marvellous deterent and it has clearly shaken driv ers up. We perhaps have not got as many vehicles as on previous occasions, but we think the old CBs have been on the go. Our colleagues in Kent police tell us Welwyn High Street is jammed with vehicles." Four illegal CB radios were seized during the check.
One vehicle which narrowly missed being impounded was a Spanish-registered coach on a 57-day tour.
Tachograph records showed that the coach's driver spent 54 consecutive days driving the vehicle. Unfortunately for the Traffic Examiners, the coach driver took a full day's rest the day before he was stopped, and as such was immune from prohibition and prosecution.
Inspector Clark explained: "It is like drunken driving, we cannot prosecute someone retrospectively for hours offences. We must apprehend them while they are commiting the offence." The driver was severely reprimanded and the Spanish authorities have been notified of his actions.