Hypothetically, if an employer allowed a driver to drive a vehicle that once laden, was over its weight (ie i had a gross weight of 7.5t but once laden it actually exceeded this and became HGV) and there was an accident, would the employer be liable? Would the insurance policy be valid?

Not an expert on this but my OH drives a company van that is laden with stuff and he regularly has it weighed, once it was over the limit and he refused to drive it as not only would the van not be accurate in stopping in an emergency being over weight but also if my OH was caught driving a it over weight then we would also get fined and point put on his licence

The insurance company should have legal cover (well hopefully if they opted for it ) and so should cover sorting it all out :)

If the company had processes inplace that covers them to make sure they are within the law then they should be ok as if it was the result of an employee not following rules then they would be responsible :)

Lucy, the insurance would not cover ANYONE who did not drive in accordance with their license provision or acted in an illegal manner...hence, employer would be liable if they knowingly allowed a driver to exceed his license and also the weighting of his vehicle. Even if the employee was responsible the employer still has a duty of care to make sure that things are done properly...hence the Railtrack incident, where they tried to prosecute the company rather than the actual rail workers.

But they're still trying to identify the actual contractors who worked on those points.

Yes they are...but the point is the blame does not solely lie within the remit of the contractors...

Hi Sam, I think the employer would be liable as they have a duty of care towards employees and therefore it is up to them to make sure the working practices are correct. Unless of course the Employee was paid to have that responsibility...i.e the Health and Safety Officer, or the employee responsible for making sure the load is not too heavy. I would imagine the Insurance would be invalid as A) The driver is not qualified to drive that class of vehicle and B) The load itself would be illegal, i.e. The vehicle would be overweight for it's category. Hope this helps a bit, maybe someone with Traffic Law experience or expertise can help?? All the best, Dawn

PS Any ones Insurance is invalid if they drive outside of their permitted categories.

Sam I'll get you the correct answer later if this isn't right, but I am pretty sure it is the employee's ie driver's responsibilty to make sure they are not overloaded/incorrectly loaded etc. and that the vehicle is roadworthy, if not then they should refuse to dirve it.
Overloading a vehicle does not actually make it an hgv, it just means the vehicle is overloaded and therefore unsafe to drive, if the driver is pulled by the ministry on a vehicle check they would be fined, as they would if any defects etc. were found the employer would also be fined & liable to lose their operators licence.
Dave is transport manager at his works so I'll get him to let me know the full position on it, he's well up to date on it all

Ingrid has asked me to reply to clarify this for you Sam.

a) It is the company's and the drivers responsibility not to overload a vehicle b) If the driver does take out a load that is and gets caught it doesn't put that vehicle in the next LGV category but the driver and company would be prosecuted for overloading. The company would also get notes put against their operators license which would then be noted when it comes up for renewal (too many and VOSA would refuse a license, but it's not only overloading, other operating factors are taken into account) Take note, depending on how much overloaded the vehicle is the fine can be £5000 for the driver and 10,000 for the company. The safety of the load is the drivers resposibility.
7.5 tonne gross lorries are now classified as LGV's but if you have held a car license from before April 1998 you have grandfather rights.

Dave

Dave, would their Insurance be null and void too?? Cheers, Dawn

That is a grey area, it would very much depend on the cicumstances and the insurance company concerned !

Dave

dave i may ring you tonight!!!!

Sam,

After talking to you tonight and getting more information,  Ingrid came up with this answer.....

The cheapest option in the end would be to put the driver through a HGV test !!