Yeardley given load discharge
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• Brian Yeardley Continental was given an absolute discharge after he admitted using a vehicle with an insecure load.
Driver Paul Smithson, who denied a similar offence before Epping magistrates and exceeding 4%hours driving without the required break, was convicted of both offences. He was fined £82 and ordered to pay £80 prosecution costs.
The magistrates were told that Smithson's artic, carrying a load of scrap metal, was stopped by police who thought the load was not secured and was therefore dangerous.
A video recording showing a bulge in the trailer's curtainside was shown to the court. A police officer said he believed that the cage of aluminium which moved could have gone through the curtain on to the road. When he opened the rear doors of the trailer some of the aluminium fell on to him. Smithson accepted that the load had moved. He said he felt he had been entitled to exceed 4X hours driving by 90 minutes because he was unable to stop at the service area as he intended. The slip road was blocked and he had to carry on to the next one. He had regarded this as an "emergency", entitling him to depart from the hours' rules.
For the company, Gary Hodgson said the curtain sided trailer was fitted with straps and it was clear from the video that these had not been used. Had they been, the load would have been secure.
Arguing that the company had taken all the pre cautions it could, Hodgson said it had provided a suitable vehicle for the job and allocated it to an experienced driver. All the company's drivers were issued with handbook guidelines dealing with all aspects of the drivers' responsibilities and he was no longer employed by the company.