London,
12
December
2010
|
23:00
Europe/London

Heavy fine for overweight van

Two men have been fined £2,430 for using an overweight vehicle in Hackney, following a joint weight and road safety inspection, carried out by Hackney Council and the police.

On 23 April 2010, the police’s Road Traffic Division was working in partnership with Hackney Council s Trading Standards Team when they identified a Ford Transit van with a suspected overload.

The van, owned by Mr Hokum Wakilzai of Suffolk St, E7, and driven by Mr Moussa Khan, of Tilney Road, E7, was then escorted by Road Traffic Police to a weighbridge where the Council’s Trading Standards were on hand to conduct a weight check. The weigh-in revealed the van to be overloaded with fruit and vegetables and more than 1,480 kilograms overweight.

On 8 December, 2010 at Thames Magistrates Court, Mr Moussa Khan, was found guilty of three separate counts of exceeding the legal allowance for the gross and rear weights of the van* he was driving, and fined £600 and a victim surcharge of £15. Mr Hokum Wakilzai, the vehicle owner, was found guilty of the same and, as the owner of the vehicle, was fined £1800, a victim surcharge of £15, and ordered to pay costs of £689.50 to the Council.

Councillor Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods at Hackney Council, says: “Overweight vehicles are dangerous and unsafe, and the Council is committed to working alongside our partners in the police to keep the roads of Hackney safe for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.”

* Under the Road Traffic Act 1988