§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report the number of convictions obtained in each magistrates court area since May 1985 against owners and drivers of motor lorries which were being used when the permitted second axle weight was exceeded and against owners and drivers of motor lorries which were used when the permitted gross weight was exceeded, both offences contrary to section 40(5) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1972, and the level of fine imposed on each occasion on the driver and the owner.
§ Mr. MellorI have been asked to reply.
No reliable information is available separately for goods vehicles. The readily available information relates to all findings of guilt for offences of exceeding the gross weight or axle weight and is published annually in "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles England and Wales … Supplementary Tables" (table 5 of the issue for 1985). Table 6 of the same publication gives information on fines imposed and table 17 on findings of guilt in each police area for all types of load offence. More detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.