Ban hits coach men
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COACH operators are up in arms against a police decision to enforce a 6-ton weight limit along one of the Scottish highland's most scenic routes — from Kinlecliewe to Gairloch. Although the ban has been in force since 1 952 — since when the road in question has been substantially improved — coach operators have not been troubled before this season.
Now a number have been prosecuted.
Mr William Steele, traffic manager of Highland Omnibuses Ltd, which operates stage carriage services over the road, said his company had to choose vehicles for the route carefully. Those really affected, however, were English tour operators who used coaches over the limit.
The matter is being raised by Mr Hamish Gray, MP for Ross and Cromarty, who is to ask the county council's highways and traffic committee to consider the ban, which he described as "bureaucratic balderdash". Mr Gray went on: "I think there is a good case for the weight limit being increased slightly to accommodate the coaches or for some discretion to be used."