Faults rneanz einz
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• West Midland Licensing Authority John Mervyn Pugh has renewed the licence held by Male & Son (Pensnett) for five years, despite what he described as a "Heinz variety" of offences.
The company was applying to renew its national licence for 46 vehicles and 20 trailers, having previously held a licence authorising 76 vehicles and 50 trailers.
Michael Carless, for the company, said 18 convictions„in five years was not a bad reerord considering the number of vehicles Male operated. The greatest number of convictions had been seven in 1986: the least had been one in 1987. The offences ranged from maintenance, to overloading and tachograph offences.
Two of the three convictions associated with maintenance concerned tyres, said Carless. The company's tyre bill was 24,000 to 25,000 a month, and drivers were conscious of the problem. On average, drivers reported defective tyres twice a day.
Mervyn Pugh said that if the tyre convictions were taken away, Male's maintenance record did not worry him, but he suggested that the company reduced its inspection cycle from eight to six weeks.
Director David Male said that such a policy would mean the vehicles would have less time on the road. Mervyn Pugh replied that it was friendly advice and he did not want to see the company in trouble again in the future.
Male said that drivers were give a monthly letter about overloading and that the main problem had been tachograph calibration.
The company was considering using the analysis facilities of the West-Midland Training Group.