PCs trip up over weighing
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• Bly Transport (Sheffield) has been cleared of an alleged overloading offence after
police officers admitted that they had no knowledge of the code of practice for plate weighbridges.
Appearing before Pontefract magistrates, the company had denied overloading the rear axle of a twin-axled Leyland, laden with steel and assorted parcels, by 720kg, 6.8%.
PC Monaghan, of West Yorkshire police, said the vehicle had been directed to the weighbridge at Ferrybridge power station. He asked the driver to weigh the front axle, the gross weight and then the rear axle. He agreed with Gary Hodgson, defending, that there was some inaccuracy in the split weighing method.
PC Hurst said he had recorded the front axle as weighing 6,000kg, the rear axle as 11,200kg and the gross weight as 17,360kg. He agreed that the sum of the recorded first and second axle weights came to less than the recorded gross weight. The driver had left the engine running and the handbrake on. He was not aware that was contrary to the code of practice.