£150 fine for employing unqualified drivers
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• Fines totalling £200 were imposed by Ely (Cambs) magistrates last week on a Cambridgeshire firm of haulage contractors and two of its drivers for what the defending solicitor described as "mostly technical offences".
Murfitts Haulage, of Littleport, Cambs, a partnership, pleaded guilty through their solicitor to a total of 32 charges including 26 of employing unlicensed hgv drivers, two of using a trailer without a test certificate, two of using a trailer with no plating certificate Two additional charges were preferred against Mr Michael J. Murfitt for failing to produce drivers' records and failing to keep a proper register.
Mr C. Young, defending said the company had 18 hgv and the fleet was well organized and well run. He hoped the number of charges would not give a false impression as in many cases they related to the same or a similar offence and in most cases arose from the same set of circumstances. He explained, too, that in the case of Mr Alfred E. Murfitt he had been a sleeping partner in the business and that his son Mr Michael J. Murfitt had run the firm. Mr Murfitt senior had in fact retired during the period the offences took place and his son was now in sole control of the business.
The circumstances of the offences, said Mr Young, were that both drivers had applied for hgv licences. Unfortunately, they had sent their applications to the wrong office and they were returned in due course. They were then sent to the proper address only to be returned for further completion. During this time a routine traffic check had stopped one of the drivers and the offence came to light. Both drivers were entitled to the licence they had applied for and they were subsequently granted.
Dealing with the charges against Mr M. J. Murfitt only, of failing to produce records and failing to keep a register, it was explained that a DoE inspector called at the firm's office on various occasions over a short period when Mr Murfitt was away and was told that records were kept at Mr Murfitt's home—the former office Records were eventually produced.
For driving without a hgv licence Mr B. C. Hines, driver, was fined £10 on the first offence and given an absolute discharge on nine further offences, 27 additional offences were taken into consideration. The second driver, Mr S. M. Graves, was similarly dealt with being fined 10 on the first offence and given an absolute discharge on three remaining offences. Twelve other offences were taken into consideration. Mr M. J. Murfitt was fined £5 on each of 16 offences relating to the employment of unlicensed hgv drivers and was further fined £.15 on each of the two records offences. Mr A. E. Murfitt was fined 15 on each of 14 offences relating to the employment of unlicensed drivers.