Girder 13ft over back of trailer ‘not dangerous’ driver claimed
A STEEL girder was protruding 13ft over the back of the trailer as an articulated lorry turned from Glategny Esplanade onto North Beach, the Magistrate’s Court was told.
The driver, John Norman, of Emma Place, La Vrangue Hill, St Peter Port, was told by the judge that he had showed a blatant disregard for public safety.
He was fined a total of £500 and banned from driving for three months.
The court heard that police officers on mobile patrol at the bottom of St Julian’s Avenue saw the end of the beam cross into the adjacent lane and nearly hit the windscreen of a small hatchback which was being driven on the Weighbridge roundabout as the lorry turned.
They followed the lorry up the North Beach access road, but Mr Norman failed to stop despite blue lights being activated. At the small roundabout that connects the East Arm to the freight area, he stopped when officers sounded the siren.
When asked why there was no canvas or high-visibility material over the end of the beam, he said he had placed an orange high-visibility vest over it but said it must have fallen off.
Officers drew the conclusion that he seemed he was not fazed by the risk he had posed to others and he did not seem to share their safety concerns. He said he had been doing that sort of thing for years without accident and did not see a problem.
There was no registration plate on the trailer which was obscuring the one on the lorry.
The defendant admitted using a motor vehicle on a public highway in which the load was packed in such a way as to cause danger to others. He also admitted using a vehicle without exhibiting a registration plate.
He told the court that the trailer had since been adapted to carry such loads and he did not think that what he had done was dangerous.
Judge Graeme McKerrell said he begged to disagree. There was a significant overhang of the beam and anyone who drove into the back of it could have been killed. The defendant had a long list of previous convictions though it was accepted that there had been nothing for three years. But the record included driving vehicles with insecure loads and failing to stop after an accident.
‘The fact that you cannot see the danger therefore does not come as a surprise to me and you seem to show a blatant disregard for the safety of others,’ said the judge.
‘If you did tie a high-visibility vest there, which I am sceptical about, you had a duty to ensure that it did not come off.’
He said the offence was far too serious to be dealt with by a fine alone.
A £400 penalty with a three-month driving ban was imposed for the dangerous load offence plus £100 for the registration plate matter.
Judge McKerrell asked Mr Norman if he could pay the £500 before leaving the court. The defendant said he could, but said he would now lose his job.
He said he had driven his van to court and asked if he could drive it away. Judge McKerrell said he could not and would need to make other arrangements to move it.
