1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
• EDITOR'S COMMENT
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
• To err is human, but if you're a haulier don't expect divine forgiveness every time. Judging by the latest remarks from transport law experts at this week's Franco-British Road Haulage Conference, it wouldn't hurt for magistrates to come down from their ivory towers and learn a little about the real world of road haulage. That way, when it comes to dealing with the law breakers they will be sure that the punishment really does fit the crime.
Would specialist tribunals with knowledge of the industry make for better enforcement? According to John Hosking, chairman of the Magistrates Association, a knowledge of the industry is not necessarily needed. In many respects he is right. If a haulier is up before the beak for overloading, and it's obvious that he commited the offence knowingly, a magistrate certainly doesn't need to know anything about loading tolerances, or suspension windup. All he, or she for that matter, has to do is apply the law of the land in consultation with the Clerk of the Court. The penalties for breaking the law are invariably quite clear; all the magistrate has to do is to be satisfied that the character and attitude of the defendant warrants that particular penalty.
Unfortunately life is not black and white, and neither is road transport law. The bewildering shades of grey mean that some experience of road transport must be present if the operator is to get a fair hearing.
Overloading is a case in point. Pity the haulier who does everything in his power to ensure that his vehicles are loaded correctly, only to find that his customer made a mistake and those pallets, which he swore weighed 500kg, actually weighed 750kg. Who is the best man to get to the truth? Did someone say due diligence?
In this country we are proud of the principle that a person is innocent until proven quilt)' and that everybody is entitled to a fair trial by his peers. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "peer" as "Equal in civil standing or rank... equal in any respect". It would help in judging road transport cases if that was extended to read "equal in understanding".