My works got a letter through from the council saying I drove my 18 tonne lorry through a 7.5t limit road. It states that a member of the public saw me go through and this particular village is a member of the councils lorry watch scheme.
In my defence there was a accident on the dual carriage way and tailbacks were 6miles long, I was not going to be able to make my delivery if I didn’t use this route as a short cut to avoid it all. Can i deny i used this road or will they have proof i did ?
I am a little worried as I don’t know where I stand with this so any advice would be appreciated thanks
I am guessing these nimbys in the local ‘lorry watch scheme’ will have been sad enough to take photos etc. I wouldn’t risk lying to be honest.
At the end of the day you shouldn’t have driven down the road if it had a weight limit on it, if the tailback on the d/c meant you couldn’t make your delivery then so be it - its not your fault.
Tell them you are Polish and new to all traffic laws, and can’t read any English. Then offer them some cabbage stew as a piece offering. If they refuse they must be racists.
Assuming it was just a nimby weight limit and not there to protect anything, I’d chance a reply along the lines of.
The weight limit in question is a 7.5t except for access limit, in this instance I was making a time sensitive delivery to xyz and as the dual carriageway was blocked the only way that I could make the delivery was to access this stretch of road.
Hopefully you’ll get a stern letter promising gang ■■■■ in prison if you even so much as look down that road again and that will be that.
I got away with going through a 7.5t on the main road in Witham with a lowloader and 12’ wide machine on, I replied that I believed that the weight limit included the turning I needed to make in order to avoid the wea bridge. I was wrong on that but I got a warning.
keebs26uk:
My works got a letter through from the council saying I drove my 18 tonne lorry through a 7.5t limit road. It states that a member of the public saw me go through and this particular village is a member of the councils lorry watch scheme.
Wouldn’t worry about it. This is a warning letter, nothing else. Warning letters is all they can send out because they know that without any actual evidence other than a complaint, there is absolutely nothing they can do.
hiya…ive see in the stoke on trent newspaper the police have issued some old scrotes(i’am only 62)
with speed guns… these pratts are getting registration numbers of speeding vehicles for the police…
the police only send a letter telling them they have been noted…it did say after 3 letters the police
would interveen…one car did get recorded 40 mph over the top in a 30 area wich there was more
intrest…i would think you may get a letter saying you’ve been noted…
John
Worry when the letter comes from the Police.
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You won’t get a letter from the police, Trading Standards prosecute you for this, my mate got done for it recently.
keebs26uk:
My works got a letter through from the council saying I drove my 18 tonne lorry through a 7.5t limit road. It states that a member of the public saw me go through and this particular village is a member of the councils lorry watch scheme.
Errrr… was this member of the public called Margaret Anne Lake by any chance? or was she using her stage name “Mystic Meg” perhaps? because for them to know it was YOU driving they would have to be psychic !!
Your TM will have been asked to ID the driver but he was not present so he can only say the vehicle was booked out to you on that day, they would still need to confirm it was actually you driving and so a notice requesting you to confirm you were driving or asking you to I/D the driver would still be required by a court. Its called a chain of evidence.
““Your TM will have been asked to ID the driver but he was not present so he can only say the vehicle was booked out to you on that day, they would still need to confirm it was actually you driving and so a notice requesting you to confirm you were driving or asking you to I/D the driver would still be required by a court. Its called a chain of evidence.””
is,nt a tachograph, defect sheet filled out for that day enough evidence?
Coffeeholic:
It’s a meaningless letter, not much to worry about.
Send one back marked…“Dear Nosey ■■■■■■■■”…Mind your own business. Next time you have a conservatory built, and the truck delivering the building equipment, refuses to come down THAT particular route. Who you gonna complain to then? You ■■■■■ Loads of love …Big Bad Lorry Driver.
If any member of the public writes down your registration plate, and reports you, chances are they didn’t bother looking at who was driving.
Tell the old bill the nosy neighbour probably got a registration wrong by one digit, and therefore applies doubt to the entire proceedings, as similar registrationed vehicles (prob from your same fleet yard?) can be accounted for.
Offer your tachos as evidence, confident that the trace is no good whatsoever as to your whereabouts on the night in question!
It’s amazing how many so-called “neighbourhood watchlings” don’t know how to take a report on what they are looking at!
Weather conditions, who’s driving, description of who’s driving, marks on vehicle, type of vehicle, is it day or night, what’s the time, is the road wet, etc etc. Any of these details missing when challenged pours doubt on the entire “witness report” which means plod will always give the driver the benefit of the doubt, unless a collision took place between the lgv and a parked car or something similar.
“That bounder stoved my Bentley by jove!”
“Changing the A5 into the A5183 didn’t protect you then you nimby knob!”
