Double wheel loss costs firm £415
Article courtesy of Commercial Motor magazine

The loss of a pair of wheels has cost Phoenix Grain of Tarleton, Lancashire, £415 in fines and costs. The firm pleaded guilty to using a vehicle when the roadwheels were insecure when it appeared before the Liverpool magistrates.
Traffic examiner Sarah Bell said that on 20 July Merseyside Police requested the attendance of a vehicle examiner at an incident on a roundabout on the Formby Bypass.

The examiner found a 31,000kg rigid tipper on the roundabout – the twin roadwheels on its third axle had come off. One of the lost wheels had evidently caused an oncoming vehicle to collide with the central reservation barrier.

All 10 wheelnuts were missing and in the opinion of the vehicle examiner that was the cause of the wheels becoming detached. The driver of the vehicle, Charles Skipper, was asked if he had been satisfied with the condition of the vehicle prior to setting off, to which he had replied yes.

The magistrates fined the company £300 with £115 coasts. Skipper pleaded guilty to a similar offence and was fined £100 with £100 costs.

This article was originally published in Commercial Motor on 02/06/05.

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