Man fined £4,800 for overweight van

Friday 22 September 2017

A 51-year-old man who was stopped three times by Customs Officers after driving an overweight van off the ferry from St Malo has been fined £4,800 by the Magistrate's Court.

Jose Jorge Gomes Gouveia was facing six charges regarding the use of the vehicle, the state of the windshield and his failure to have it insured.

Legal adviser Carla Carvalho told the Court that on 7 April Gouveia was stopped by a Customs Officer at the Harbour as his van was disembarking the ferry from St Malo because they were concerned it was overweight. The Sprinter Van weighed 6,700 kg, 1,700 kg more than its maximum weight. On this occasion, one of Gouveia's friends was driving the vehicle and Gouveia was simply collecting it off the boat. Gouveia was charged for allowing the vehicle to be used while overweight and without proper insurance.

Gouveia was then stopped by Customs Officers in similar circumstances on 30 June and the van was found to be 300 kg overweight. They also noticed a large crack at the top of the windscreen. On 28 July, Gouveia was stopped a third time and this time the van was found to be 320kg in excess. Customs Officers also noticed that the windscreen still hadn't been fixed since they last stopped Gouveia.

Gouveia's advocate, Natalie Addis, told the Court that Gouveia frequently goes to Portugal to collect food and wine which he then sells in his shop in Jersey. She explained that on the first occasion he hadn't been aware of the actual combined weight of the vehicle, having been given an estimation of 300kg by his supplier. She said that it was not possible to weigh the vehicle until it reached the port and this was not a deliberate act but a case of miscommunication. She added that since he was stopped Gouveia has been making a 20 mile detour to the nearest weighbridge on his trips to make sure no further breach of the law occur.

She also explained that Gouveia did not realise the insurance had lapsed and that he had asked for a garage to fix his windshield but was told they would need to order a new one and that it might take some time. She said the crack did not obstruct Gouveia's view and that he needed to keep driving.

She told the Court that, if he was disqualified, Gouveia could possibly lose his business, which would affect his family as well as his employees. She added that the arrest had had a sobering effect on him and also put a great strain on his marriage, calling the experience a "hard-learned lesson." 

Relief Magistrate David le Cornu told Gouveia that the offences were serious and that he had put not only the driver of the van but other road users at risk. He added: "The aggravating factor in your case is that having been stopped once you carried out using that van and loading it up to excess." He therefore charged Gouveia £2,500 for the three instances where the van was overweight, £1,500 for allowing it to be driven without insurance and £800 for driving with a cracked windshield, making a total of £4,800.