Owner tried to blame drivers
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North Western Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell told a Cheshire operator he could not hide behind his drivers after he blamed them for not carrying out their daily checks properly.
Stockport-based G&W Goswell, which has a licence for 10 vehicles and six trailers, appeared before the TO at a St Helens disciplinary inquiry.
Vehicle examiner Colin Brown reported that he carried out a maintenance investigation in February following the issue in January of an immediate prohibition which showed a significant maintenance failure. He inspected the one vehicle being operated and issued it with a defect notice. Only one safety inspection record could be produced, and he was told that the vehicle had been off the road for 12 months.
There had been a previous unsatisfactory maintenance investigation in December, said Brown, following an immediate prohibition showing a significant maintenance failure in November.
In reply to Paul Carless, for the company, Brawn agreed the core of the problem was the driver defect reporting system.
Director Glen Goswell said the company was contracted to Whitbread to haul its trailers. Suspending the licence would probably lose the company that contract.
Following the second immediate prohibition he had sold some vehicles and trailers as he was not prepared to employ drivers who were not carrying out their responsibilities. The firm now used a daily nil defect reporting system. In future he would like to operate two or three vehicles, if he could find the right type of driver, The TC pointed out that the responsibility was his.
Carless said Goswell was embarrassed to be before the TG after 16 years of operation, lime moved on and systems that were acceptable a few years ago were not acceptable now.
The TO said three immediate and three delayed prohibitions had been imposed on the company's vehicles and she found that standards had slipped. However, it was to the company's credit that it had reduced its fleet as it appeared that there was insufficient finance to properly maintain the number of vehicles previously operated.
After Goswell had given a number of undertakings, including a promise that inspection records for each vehicle specified would be submitted to the Traffic Area Office for six months from the date of specification, the IC curtailed the licence to three vehicles and four trailers.