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Lending an 0-licence leads to revocation
Page 33
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An operator loses his 0-licence and is disqualified after allowing it to be used by an unlicensed third
party. Michael Jewell reports.
A KENT-BASED OPERATOR, who al lowed his 0-licence to be used by an unlicensed operator, has had it revoked and has been disqualified from holding or obtaining an 0-licence in anyTraffic Area for five years.
Mark Smith,who held aninternational licence for four vehicles and two trailers, was called before the South-Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps at an Eastbourne disciplinary inquiry.
Appearing for Smith, Paul Carless conceded that the vehicles concerned had been kept at an unauthorised operating centre at Herne Bay, and that they had been used by Kent Trucking, formerly Kent Transport.
Traffic examiner David Lynch said he had attempted to meet Smith but had failed several times. Tachograph charts had been requested from both Smith and Paul Palmer, described as director and transport manager respectively, but none had ever been received.
Smith said he also held a licence for two vehicles and one trailer based at Preston in the North-Western Traffic Area. He was not a director or shareholder of Kent Trucking, which had been operating the vehicles. He could not explain why the licences were in his name rather than that of Kent Trucking, nor why he was the registered keeper but not the owner of the vehicles.
Palmer said he had sent the tachograph records to the Traffic Area Office by special delivery and the Post Office had been asked to investigate their apparent loss. He admitted that the nominated transport manager, Pamela Mason, never visited Herne Bay.
Palmer said he was a director of Kent Trucking and he had moved the vehicles from Barking. They had never been parked at the authorised operating centre at Faversham and he admitted that Mason was not involved with either licence.
After examining 240 tachograph charts produced at the hearing, Lynch said they showed that one of the four vehicles operated was operating from Rainham. They also disclosed three daily rest offences.
Carless asked the TC to take into account the absence of poor maintenance and convictions, the satisfactory financial evidence produced for Kent Trucking, and that the loss of the licence even for one day would be fatal to Kent Trucking.
Making the revocation and disqualification orders, the TC said the operation of the licence without any input from a qualified CPC holder, the use throughout of unauthorised operating centres and allowing both licences to be used by a third party meant that Smith had lost his good repute.
The TC directed that his decision be drawn to the attention of the North-Western TC. •