Secured the cargo in December – escaped driver's license seizure in May

The truck driver had an accident in traffic due to poorly secured cargo. When he had to brake suddenly because of a car in front of him, the cargo shifted and hit the driver's cab, which suffered minor material damage. Neither the member nor anyone else was injured. The police investigated the damage, and the driver's license was not revoked at the scene. After the incident, the member contacted the Norwegian Industrial Traffic Association and received assistance from associate attorney Anniken Aune. 

The member had investigated with colleagues and found that the load was not secured well enough against shifting. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration had come to the same conclusion after examining the vehicle after the incident. The member therefore admitted in questioning with the police that he had mistakenly not secured his load well enough against shifting that day, and said he was willing to accept a fine for the matter. He did not hear anything more from the police until three months later when he received a notice in the mail with a fine and a three-month driving license suspension. “I recommended that the member only accept the fine, but not the driving license suspension,” says Aune.

Because the member did not accept the seizure, he was summoned to the district court for legal questioning with the possibility of a confession. The case came up in the district court five months after the accident. “I was with him in the district court, and argued that both because of the modest extent of the damage and because of the time that had passed since the incident, there was no basis for a driver's license seizure in the case,” says Aune.

The district court agreed with this, and issued a verdict in which he was only fined, not deprived of his driver's license.

– We are pleased that the district court emphasized the long processing time in this case, and that the district court agreed with our arguments, says associate attorney Aune.