Potatoes first
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IN A Leominster ownerdriver, said to have put potatoes before the safety of the public, has had one of the two articulated vehicles authorised on his licence suspended for three months by West Midlands Licensing Authority Ronald Jackson.
Thomas Davies, who holds a licence for one vehicle and trailer in possession, with one vehicle and trailer to be ac quired, was called before the LA because of a series of convictions for drivers' hours offences.
Davies said the convictions arose when he had been hauling potatoes in freezing weather from Hereford to a chip factory at Peterborough. The cold affected the potatoes and often the load was rejected by the factory on grounds of quality. He then had to contact the merchants and it meant that he ended up with a load that was freezing rapidly and had instructions to return it to an insulated store in Hereford as quickly as possible.
Following the convictions he decided to finish with that traffic completely and is now hauling timber for the Forestry Commission.
After Jackson commented that nobody had ordered Davies to carry potatoes and had put the interests of the potatoes and the merchants before the interests of road safety, Davies said he had been under tremendous pressure.
Jackson said that pressure from a customer should not encourage a haulier to break the law.
Announcing his decision, Jackson said he had to take some action against the licence as it was quite clear Davies had put potatoes before safety.