Operator fined £834 for running overweight

A County Armagh haulage company has been fined a total of £834 for running overweight.

In a prosecution brought by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), Antrim Magistrates’ Court was told that in April 2012, officers from the organisation directed an artic - owned and operated by Annaghmore-based Derrys Limited - to the DVA’s dynamic axle weighbridge in Toome, County Antrim.

On weighing the vehicle it was found to be:
- overweight by 4,420kg (11.0%) in excess of its legal gross train weight of 40,000kg;
- overweight in excess of its GVW by 2,330kg (13.7%);
- overweight on axle two by 910kg (8.6%);
- overweight on the combination of axles three, four and five by 1,090kg (4.5%).

As a result, the vehicle was prevented from moving until it was able to run at the correct weight.
The company was fined £200 for each of the four offences, ordered to pay £19 in court costs, as well as an offender levy of £15. Charges were brought under the Motor Vehicles (Authorised Weight) Regulations (NI) 1999 as well as the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (NI) 1999.