No ban after £400,000 bridge strike
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THE DRIVER of an abnormal load which caused £400,000 worth of damage to a railway bridge and closed a railway line has escaped a ban.
He claimed a ban would cause him exceptional hardship. Instead he was fined £250 with £43 costs and given six points on his licence.
Ivan Sanders, of Thursfield Road, West Bromwich, admitted failing to report an accident when he appeared before District Judge Hollingworth at High Peak Magistrates Court.
Evidence was given that in April, Sanders' artic was transporting a Caterpillar bulldozer under escort along the B5053 at Brielow Bar, Hindlow, when it struck the bridge, reportedly causing £400,000 worth of damage and resulting in the closure of the railway line.
Sanders said he had been given the all-clear from the escort to go under the bridge. After the accident he had reported it to his transport manager and thought that he would have reported it as he had all the important numbers. Sanders had left the scene to get the vehicle off the road so it would not cause any obstruction. If he was disqualified from driving under the totting up rule it would result in him losing his job as he regularly travelled between company sites.
The District Judge said it was a serious offence, but he accepted that a driving ban would cause exceptional hardship.