‘Some carriers flouting law’

Press, 15 August 1980, Page 2

‘Some carriers flouting law’

A few road transport firms have been flouting the road-user charges, says the president of the Christchurch Road Transport Association (Mr P. Boyd). Responsible firms kept to the law but “enough are doing it to make it noticeable,” he said yetserday.

In the District Court at Rangiora on Wednesday, Judge Frampton said that some companies might risk breaching their distance licences because it would cost less in fines than it would in road-user charges.

The association believed the law should be upheld, Mr Boyd said. “We would rather change the law through the proper channels than break it.”

The association actively discouraged carriers from breaking the law, Mr Boyd said.

Firms were sometimes the "innocent victims” because drivers did not know what

they were carrying, he said. Logs and lime were classic examples of overloaded goods because moisture would vary the weight of the load, making it difficult to judge. Containers were another example, Mr Boyd said. Drivers relied on papers to tell them the weight. Sometimes the load might be all at one end, making one or two axles read over their limit.

Companies were at the n.ercy of their drivers and most companies told them not tb overload under any circumstances.

The road-user charges were a “thorn in the industry’s side,” he said. The maximum fine for breaches of the distance licence is $15,000. Most fines imposed have been up to ( $2OO but Judge Frampton said that some Christchurch judges have fined frequent offenders up to $9OO.