Stephensons recently represented a commercial vehicle recovery operator who was prosecuted for overloading his vehicle. The problem occurred when the operator was called to tow away a broken down HGV on the busy M60.
The vehicle was causing an obvious obstruction and was a potential danger to other road users on the motorway, so the driver acted immediately to remove it.
This meant his combined train weight was over the legal limit. He committed an offence because he did not get prior permission from the Police under the ‘abnormal loads’ regulations, but with help from Stephensons who pointed out the extenuating circumstances, the operator managed to avoid a conviction or fine.
