Police pull over driver of truck under “immense stress”

The driver of a vehicle carrying a load more than two-and-a-half times the weight limit for its size was pulled over by the police after they spotted it was under “immense stress”.

Officers from Suffolk’s commercial vehicle unit (CVU) stopped the 3.5-tonne truck in Bury St Edmunds after seeing it was being driven with six pallets of bricks on it.

The CVU’s PC Wayne Sturman said: “During the journey at very low speed, it was clear to see the vehicle was under immense stress. It was struggling to steer properly and the rear tyres were rubbing together due to the weight.

“Without our intervention and potentially travelling at speeds of up to 60mph, it could’ve ended in a serious collision, impacting on other innocent road users.”

The police said the vehicle was escorted to Bury St Edmunds’ lorry park and weighed using the CVU’s mobile weigh plates, where its gross weight was found to be 9,400kg.

The driver, aged in his 50s, was issued a traffic offence report and reported for the overweight offences, tyre offences and having an insecure load.

Since the CVU’s inception just over three years ago, it has removed 1,250 overweight vehicles from Suffolk’s roads.

As well as policing compliance and adherence to CV legislation, the unit has a role in the disruption and investigation of criminality associated with commercial vehicle activity.