FIREWOOD CARTAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22774, 7 July 1937, Page 16

FIREWOOD CARTAGE

REGULATIONS BROKEN , PROSECUTION AT PUKEKOHE [FROM OUR OWN CORRXSrONDENT] PUKEKOKE. Tuesday Penalties totalling £ll 10s were imposed on John Henry Smith,, of Dominion Road, Auckland, in the Pukekohe Police Court yesterday for overloading lorries carting firewood over the road from Port Waikato to Tuabau, en route to the city. The charges related to two motor-lorries. A traffic officer, Mr., N. C. Davenport, said the load was stacked on each lorry in two parallel tiers, which originally, apparently, had given an overall width of -Sft., which was the maximum allowed by law. However, the wood had shaken apart, and the overall vt'idth in one case was 10ft. 9in. and in the other 9ft. Bin. One truck was larger than the other, and had six wheels. It was entitled to a laden weight of six and si-half tons on that road. Actually it weighed 8 tons loewt. The other lorry was licenced for three and a-lialf tons, but it weighed 5 tons lewt. In addition, one. of the lorries had no tare weight painted on it. Defendant said that when loading it ■was thought that the weights put on Were legal. The loads had spread beyond the Bft. width owing to the bends and rojigh surface on the road. The absence of the tare weight figures was due to carelessness on the part of the driver. Defendant added that he paid the Raglan County Council 6d a ton royalty on the wood carted over the road. In assessing the penalty, the magistrate warned defendant that future overloading would probably prove highly unprofitable.

In carrying pine logs from Kohekohe to Newmarket on May 27, H. J. J. McEntee, of Papaknra, operated a motor-lorry and trailer weighing in all 9 tons Bc\vt. The classification of the portion of the road between Kohckolie and AVaiuku allowed for only six and a-half tons. There was a notice up at one bridge that the structure was dangerous, and the maximum load permitted to cross it was two tons. Evidence to this effect was given by Mr. Davenport. McEntce was fined £4 and costs, 10s.