YOU reported (LET, March 2) about Hyndburn Council being fined £900 for allowing a council lorry to be loaded with rubble to almost twice its legal weight.

At court, solicitor Gordon McMillan said the council had no wish to shift any blame on to the driver as he did not supervise the loading because it was raining very heavily and as soon as the vehicle appeared to be loaded he simply leapt into the cab and drove off.

It was also said that the driver had worked for the council for six years but had never had any training regarding vehicles and weightloads.

If not, why not? Where was the supervision? Where was the council responsibility and where is the accountability?

Even more important, overloaded rubble can fall off and sometimes become wedged between a lorry's rear wheels.

This not only leaves debris on roadways but that stuck between wheels is often jettisoned at tremendous velocity at following vehicles and has even lost people their lives.

The driver must, by law, ensure that his vehicle is safe and roadworthy before he drives it.

There is no excuse. A council solicitor cannot give absolution. Nor is it right for a council to take on full responsibility for the offence. In this case, this meant the council taxpayer paying almost the full fine of £900 and the lorry driver being practically let off except for token costs of £35.

The lawful responsibility of the driver cannot be taken away by the council solicitor by stating that the driver "simply leapt into the cab and drove off" when actually a serious offence has been committed solely by the driver.

The driver never receiving any training regarding vehicles and weightloads, was also brushed aside by Mr McMillan when he said notices stating the maximum payload of each vehicle have now been placed inside each council lorry as a result of this case.

What a disgraceful state of affairs! The council not only breaks the law itself but then makes excuses for its employees when they do the same!

What if this lorry, carrying its illegal load, had been involved in a serious or fatal road traffic accident that resulted in a charge of recklessness or causing death? Would Mr McMillan then have been so ready to admit the offence?

ADRIAN SHURMER, Lyndon Avenue, Great Harwood.

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