HEAVY TRAFFIC

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 103, 22 December 1931, Page 6

HEAVY TRAFFIC

FURTHER FINES IMPOSED UPON LORRY DRIYERS "£50 NEXT TIME" Charged with driving a lorry over tlv weight laid down ae the maximum for the road, and with carrying a greater load than the vehicle was licensed to carry, George Butler, of Galatea, was fined £1 with 12s costs on the first charge-, and £3 with similar costs on tne second. in the Rotorua Magistrate's Court yesterday. Mr. E. Roe, who appeared for the County Council, said that Butler had been found with a lorry weighing 5 ton 10 cwt. on a 4J-ton road, and his license was also not sufficient for the load carried. Mr. R. A. Potter, for Butler, said that the defendant was employed by a contractor at Galatea who was working a fleet of five lorries. Foui of these lorries had sufficient licenses for the road in question, but unfortunately when Butler had gone to use his own lorry, which was one of the four, it was out of order. At the suggestion of one of the other drivers, Butler had taken the fifth lorry, in the belief that its license was the same as that taken out for the other four. So far as the first charge was concerned, Butler was from Gisborne, and was under the impression that the Mamaku road, on which he was found, was a 6£-ton road. This was Butler's first offence. The magistrate imposed the penalties already mentioned. Previous Convictions Another lorry driver, Sydney Dennett, was also charged with driving an overloaded lorry on the TaupoNapier road, and with carrying a greater load than the lorry was licensed to carry. The County Traffic Inspector (Mr. D. M. Ford) said that Dennett had been_ driving a lorry weighing 5 ton 16 cwt. on a 41-ton road. This man had previous convictions. Dennett was fined £5 on each charge, with 12/- costs in each case £50 Next Time J. Pittar, who at the last sittings of the court, was fined £20 for breaches of the heavy traffic regulations. was convicted on a further charge of driving a lorry on the Ro-torua-Taupo road without being thc holder of a heavy traffic license. The offences in respect of which Pittar had been fined on the previous court day. had occurred on November 4, but this offence had occurred on November 24. • "Seeing that he was involved in the other offences, he will be fined only •£l in this case, but next time he comes before the court he will be fined £50," said the magistrate.