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HEAVY CONSEQUENCES
Page 20
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Overweight vehicles cause excessive wear and tear on roads; they are a danger to road safety and can lead to an unfair trading environment for haulage operators.
But since 2003. Suffolk's Trading Standards has managed to slash the number of overloaded vehicles by 60%. In 2007/08 there were 66 prosecutions relating to overloaded vehicles in the county, with the largest fine handed out being almost £1,000.
Road traffic enforcement officer Peter Westcott says some companies are found to be overweight because they are under the impression that the degree of flexibility they are entitled to is an extra 10% of their load weight on any sized vehicle. But this is untrue. It is up to 10% on lorries up to 10 tonnes,' he explains. "Then it's subject to a one-tonne rule."
Drivers and operators of vehicles above 10 tonnes and found to be overloaded will be prosecuted.