2,000kg overload enough to make truck dangerous
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A SHROPSHIRE operator and one of his drivers have been tined more than £2.000 between them after a truck was found to be so overloaded that they were charged with driving and a vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Vosa upgraded the overloading charges originally brought against operator Colin Paddington and driver Nigel Thelwell — both from Whitchurch — shortly before the case started at Solihull Magistrate's Court.
Dominic Green, prosecuting for Vosa, said the charges had been changed because the truck driven by Thelwell had been overloaded by 2,000kg.
"The vehicle was stopped off the A46 at Birmingham after the heavy load of furniture was causing the truck to sway from side to side and the tyres to deflate," he told the court.
The magistrates heard that overloading was taken seriously because steering and braking could be affected, causing accidents. Green added: "In this case the situation was dangerous."
He said T'helwell had admitted the vehicle had not been checked before being driven.
Paddington was fined £1,200 with £148 costs for using a vehicle in a dangerous condition; Thelwell was fined £1,000 with £115 for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition. Neither attended court; the changes were found to be proved in their absence.