Haulage firm fined by court after 18-tonne lorry went over ancient Swarkestone Bridge
A HAULAGE firm has been fined after one if its trucks drove over a Derbyshire ancient monument when more than twice the legal weight limit.
A joint operation by Derbyshire County Council trading standards and police caught the 18-tonne HGV going over Swarkestone Bridge on July 6 last year.
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Swarkestone Bridge has a weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes.
The team snared the vehicle during one of its regular spot checks at the famous causeway.
A spokesman for the county council said the bridge is a scheduled ancient monument and is covered by a 7.5 tonne weight restriction to protect it from damage.
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The ruling is called the Derbyshire County Council (Swarkestone Causeway Weight Restriction) Order 2004.
The company, called Teatime Tasties Limited, of Huddersfield, was fined £270, plus £115 costs and a £15 victim surcharge at Derby Crown Court on January 31 after pleading guilty to the offence by post.
A council spokesman said: "Swarkestone Bridge is a scheduled ancient monument which is covered by a weight restriction to protect it from damage.
"Weight restrictions are placed on Derbyshire roads for good reason – to improve safety for residents, pedestrians and other road users and to protect the environment, whether urban or rural.
"Signs are in place on the approach to weight restricted roads to warn drivers.
"We will continue to prosecute where we find the law is being broken."
6 Comments
by digbypatch
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 7:38AM
“Fasty
Buses running to a timetable might be spaced out but coaches might not be.”
by AndiBear
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 6:37PM
“£270 fine, should have been £10,000 and given to DCC for the upkeep of the bridge!”
by Fasty
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 5:15PM
“Bus crossings by their nature are spaced out, you could easily get a number of lorries on the bridge at the same time.
However, "snared the vehicle during one of its regular spot checks" does sound like they're letting the offence occur rather than stopping over-weight vehicles and diverting them.”
by Wafty
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 5:03PM
“"The team snared the vehicle during one of its regular spot checks" - they're not that regular - these breaches occur multiple times every day.....”
by smshogun
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 4:08PM
“An average luxury coach weighs in the region of 12 - 16 tonnes.”
by digbypatch
Tuesday, February 05 2013, 3:48PM
“A weight restriction for trucks of 7 1/2 ton but not for Buses or coaches which weigh more than that.”