Drivers fined for moving massive pipes in the dark
TWO lorry drivers were fined after being told by police they couldn’t move their wide loads in the dark and then doing it anyway.
Officers caught up with the two HGVs, which were carrying massive pipes, in Llanrug after a tip-off from another motorist.
The drivers had contacted police before making their journey to Pwllheli but were told they should not transport the cargo outside daylight hours.
They decided to go ahead anyway, and set off with their 4.92 metre wide loads without any markings or lights on the widest points.
Police gave the two lorries an escort to the Cibyn Industrial Estate in Caernarfon where the vehicles were impounded and the drivers hit with penalties.
North Wales Police Sergeant Trystan Bevan, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “It is only by good fortune that a collision did not happen in this instance due to the drivers ignoring police advice by travelling in the darkness.
“We also know that other road users had been forced to take evasive action due to the danger that these vehicles posed.
“Previously we’ve had a number of complaints regarding wide load movements.
“We’d like to take the opportunity to remind abnormal load drivers and hauliers that it is their responsibility to ensure that loads travel safely and are properly secured and marked at all times.
“All abnormal loads must comply with all road traffic legislation whether being escorted or not.”