RESTRICTING LORRY LOADS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19377, 15 July 1937, Page 12

RESTRICTING LORRY LOADS

EFFECT ON FARMERS HEAVY COST 1 NCREAS 10 The rigid imposition of weight restrictions on lorries engaged in the carrying of sheep would result in greatly increased transport costs for farmers and would place a greater burden upon roads than is borne at present. This conclusion became cleai as a result of a discussion at z meeting of the Hawke's Bay County Council. A letter on the subject was received from the Hawke's Bay Carriers’ Association. It was urged that the crate should be exclusive of the tare of the lorry: otherwise there would be a definiterestriction upon the number of. stock carried per load. Mr. S. M. Palmer said that the imposition of the restriction would result in at least 30 to 40 fewer sheep being carried per trip, and to the farmer this was a very important matter. On the average season it was computed that to carry on under the restriction would be increasing the mileage by 3000 to 4000 miles. “The damage to the roads would be greater by the increased mileage than by the additional weight of the crate,” he said. “And that is a point that the County Council has to consider first.” After a brief discussion in which several members expressed their sympathy with the suggestion, it was decided that the restriction would not be imposed in so far as the Hawke’s Bay County Council was concerned.