Suspension for lack of safety standards Operator: Professional Transport Matter:
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Maintenance/MoT Hearing: Eastbourne Area: South East Presiding deputy TC: John Baker SOUTH EAST DEPUTY traffic commissioner (TC) John Baker has suspended the 0-licence of Professional Transport for three days after concerns were raised about safety standards at the haulier.
At a public inquiry (PI) in March in Eastbourne, the deputy TC ordered the Lancing-based firm not to run its vehicles between 30 March and 1 April.
During a visit to the operator's premises in August 2012, a Vosa examiner inspected several vehicles and issued three prohibition notices.
One of the vehicles was found to have a tyre worn beyond the legal limit.
Professional Transport had also used a trailer without a valid MoT in July 2012, although the company said this had been an oversight and that the trailer was leased.
A vehicle was found to be overloaded in the same month, which resulted in a fixed penalty of £120.
Seven prohibition notices for mechanical defects had been issued to vehicles since the firm's last appearance at a PI in May 2011, when its licence had been cut from 11 vehicles to the current authorisation of eight.
One of the prohibition notices identified a fault that had been reported by a driver but was not repaired by the company.
The deputy TC said the repute of the transport manager at the business, Roy Wickham, had been tarnished as a result of the shortcomings.
Summing up Vosa discovered that vehicles operated under the firm's licence were not given routine safety inspections on time and that the company had a poor MoT history.