An 1860 kg mass-in-service figure did not establish eligibility (2026)

Case 2250272750 / 2025-11-11 / Adjudicator Henry Michael Greenslade

ROTHERHITHE TUNNEL APPROACH / BRUNEL ROAD

“This latter figure is not the gross maximum weight.”

Henry Michael Greenslade

The appellant argued that the signs were ambiguous and that the vehicle was empty and not transporting goods. She relied on a vehicle registration document showing a mass in service of 1860 kg. She also said she had previously used the tunnel without receiving a penalty.

Henry Michael Greenslade distinguished that figure from maximum gross weight. The same registration document recorded a revenue weight of 2910 kg, or 2.91 tonnes, and an N1 classification. He explained that the restriction concerned the vehicle's maximum gross weight and that goods-vehicle status concerned its construction or adaptation, rather than whether it was carrying goods on that journey.

The appeal was refused. A genuine misunderstanding and previous uneventful journeys did not establish a ground for cancellation. The useful distinction is between two different figures on the vehicle document: evidence of a lower mass in service did not displace the recorded maximum weight.

Source and case reference

Use case reference 2250272750 in the London Tribunals register to find the official decision. This commentary distinguishes the adjudicator's finding from a possible argument in a different case; previous tribunal decisions do not bind another adjudicator.