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A lorry driver who admitted tampering with his speed limiter faces sentencing at crown court after his truck was involved in a fatal accident. The driver acquired tampering advice from the internet. The operator of the vehicle, Buxton, Derbyshire-based haulier James Bradley, received an absolute discharge when he appeared before High Peak magistrates alongside the driver, David Furnival of Congleton, Cheshire. Both pleaded guilty to using a vehicle on the road when the speed limiter did not comply  with the regulations.

Prosecuting, Rosemary Lake said that when the police examined the lorry in detail they found that the speed limiter had been tampered with and a switch fitted enabling it to be turned off. Furnival had admitted purchasing tampering instructions from the internet. For Furnival, it was said that he accepted he had fitted the device, which enabled him to turn the speed limiter on and off when driving on motorways so that he could reach the 60mph limit.

His HGV driving licence had been taken away for 12 months by the Traffic Commissioner and he had been unable to gain employment since. For Bradley, it was said he regularly checked his drivers' tachograph charts and had noticed on occasions that Furnival had exceeded 56mph, but that had been explained by the terrain. In addition, his vehicles were regularly checked by a professional maintenance contractor, who had advised him that the speed limiter was working as it should be.

Bradley's O-licence  had been revoked, and the court heard that as a result he had 'lost everything'. Ordering Bradley to pay £100 costs, the magistrates said that they noted he had performed all the appropriate checks, including that for the speed limiter. The magistrates sent Furnival to Derby Crown Court for sentencing, where he faces other charges relating to the fatal accident. Bradley had been charged with a strict liability offence to which he had to plead guilty, even though he did not know there was a problem with the speed limiter.