AS;i1 Foreign backloads overweight problem
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A MIDLOTHIAN-based international haulage firm was warned when it was revealed that lorries had been overloaded on four occasions.
But the firm retained its operators licence afte-r managing director Frank White explained to a traffic court in Edinburgh the difficulties facing companies.
He explained that different weight regulations for lorries gave Continental operators an advantage. But Mr White 37, managing director of Frank White, Trading & Forwarding Agents (Scotland) Ltd, Lasswade, was told by the court last week that overloading was a "very serious matter."
Norman Moody, chairman of the court, said it would have to stop: "If there are any further cases, some action will have to be taken."
Mr White said the firm had traffic to and from the Middle East and brought return loads from Europe to Britain. "We travel to places like Afghanistan, Asia, and Turkey, and bring return loads from Europe. This is where our problems mainly arise."
Mr White, described in court as a 'reputable operator", said he had turned down jobs abroad because his lorries would have been overloaded. He faced four charges of overloading in Britain—in one case, a lorry was overloaded by nearly four and a half tons. He also appeared because of a maintenance fault, but the court decided the firm had a satisfactory maintenance programme and decided to take no action.