No dispensation for noisy vehicles
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A haulier who failed to obtain noisesuppressing modification kits for two current six-wheelers which are particularly noisy has been told by the Ministry of Transport that no dispensation can be given under the new noise regulations.
The two lorries are about 12 months" old and the operator had repeatedly tried to obtain manufacturer's kits before the new regulations took effect. Having had no success by the end of June, he wrote to the Minister of Transport asking whether some dispensation could be granted to cover him legally until such time as the vehicles could be modified. The letter from the Ministry pointed out that, since the regulations had become law, the treatment of anyone whose vehicles exceeded the maximum permissible noise levels was consequently a matter for the courts.
The Ministry said that three months had been allowed between the announcement of the regulations and the date on which they took effect and it was understood that suppression kits for the vehicles in question would be available by July 1. Mtemporary expedient which could be adopted, suggested the Ministry, was to have the engines derated, with a corresponding reduction in carrying capacity; and the drivers might help, since the amount of noise made by a vehicle depended partly on how it was driven.