§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many prosecutions there were for the overloading of goods vehicles travelling in the Greater London area in 1998. [78891]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonEnforcement officers from the Vehicle Inspectorate weighed 3,983 heavy goods vehicles in the Greater London area in 1998 and 234 prohibition notices for overloading were issued. A prohibition notice may include more than one offence and not all offences are necessarily reported for prosecution. The Inspectorate prosecuted 239 defendants for 270 overloading offences as a result of 135 prohibition notices which were reported for prosecution. This resulted in 263 convictions.