• B Licence Suspended for Seven

11th November 1955, Page 97

11th November 1955

Page 97

Page 97, 11th November 1955 — • B Licence Suspended for Seven

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Weeks : Records Falsified

THE Metropolitan Licensing Authority has suspended the B licence of William Varney, Ltd., 28 Hermes Street, London, N.1, as from next Monday until January 1, 1956, inclusive.

He said last week that on September 30, Clerkenwell magistrates imposed fines totalling £280, with £52 10s. costs, upon the company for contraventions of the 1930 and 1933 Acts. The company had pleaded guilty to ail the charges.

• B.R.S. Extend Radio Control

TWO-WAY radio is to be used by i British Road Services to control their vehicles operating in the London Docks.

Information from radio-fitted light vans in the India and Millwall group of docks will flow to a caravan control 'office near the main gate of West India Docks, enabling B.R.S. vehicles to be ordered into and out of the docks to suit the acceptance and dispatch of cargo at the various tierths, and to cope quickly with emergencies.

A similar system is being installed at Covent Garden Market, where the B.R.S. control office will receive by radio up-to-the-minute reports of market conditions and requirements from runners equipped with walkie-talkie apparatus.

The installations follow successful trials of vehicle control by radio made by FIRS. in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leicester (for parcels collection) and in Liverpool and Birkenhead docks.

LIVERPOOL TO BAN WAITING

NEwparking and no-waiting schemes for certain streets in the city centre were challenged at Liverpool Corporation's last meeting, but were approved in , the face of strong opposition. The plans included banning waiting in side streets within 25 yd. of a junction with a main Toad, and the reversal of some bus routes.

The transport committee of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce have discussed the parking of long-distance vehicles in the centre of the city. It was stated that vehicles started to park outside offices, while drivers awaited documents, • between 4.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Narrower 'streets became constricted. , • A solution might be to provide parking sites within reasonable distance of the offices. Bombed sites could not, however, be adequately guarded. The question has been referred to the road transport section.

"ASK THEIR DESTINATION. . ."

rEARING that some people are not paying the full fare for a journey, West Hartlepool Transport Committee have ruled that in future conductors must ask passengers where they boarded a bus and their destination. The undertaking lost more than £5,000 last year. It was clear that the company had been deliberately and persistently falsifying drivers' records with intent to deceive, he went on. "From the 'beginning of February until April 20 this year," said the Authority, " it is known that 153 individual jobs were done in contravention of the special conditions attached to the B licence, and that there were 109 instances' of altered records."

Covering Illegal Work The company had applied to renew the licence, with a modification which seemed as though they sought to cover the work they had previously done illegally, stated the Authority. He had sent his examiners to inspect the records again to see whether there had been any improvement in the operation of the vehicles. Records for three vehicles were examined on November 1, and it was disclosed that these had frequently been -used during October for the carriage of goods not authorized by the licence.

At first sight. the Authority observed, it seemed that there were more than 30 contraventions of licence conditions since the convictions.

Mr. James Amphlett, for the company, expressed regret. His clients wished to make a humble apology. If the licence were granted, every effort would be made to see that the affairs of the company and the control of the vehicles were properly organized in -future.

Lack of Control The Authority replied that ,he had concluded that there was a " lamentable Jack of control of the vehicles." Having regard to previous conduct, before the offences, he had decided not to revoke ,the licence, but he would have no hesitation in doing so if the vehicles were used during the suspension period.

The licence which has been suspended specifies four sided lorries each under 3 tons unladeo. The company also hold an A licence for six vehicles and a trailer, and a special-A licence for two vehicles.

NEW GREENOCK GARAGE

A BLE to accommodate over 200 I—I buses, a new garage of the Western S.M.T. Co., Ltd., at Inchgreen, Greenock, is to be opened on November 18 by Mr. W. F. Quin, chairman of the Scottish Licensing Authority. Thebuilding cost about E160,000.

Artco Bonus Scheme for Drivers

ADRIVERS' bonus scheme, based on safe-driving conduct, is to be introduced by Associated Road Transport Contractors, Ltd., 177 Sloane Street, London, S.W.I. Before nationalization the Artco group operated a successful scheme which reduced insurance costs and the number of vehicles in dock for repairs.

Artco accepted members' individual entries and presented them in bulk to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The bonus scheme added an incentive, but drivers could not qualify until they had at least a year's accident-free driving. The bonus was paid annually and rose every year.

If the driver had an accident, he started afresh and earned the minimum bonus in the next accident-free year. The decision to restart the scheme was taken at Artco's last -board meeting.

Other plans concern the reintroduction of drivers' booklets giving details about service, parking and accommodation facilities, and the preparation of a standard form of vehicle dispatch note, The possibilities of bulk insurance are to be investigated. Later, regular information bulletins will be circulated among members.

Six new members have been enrolled and the applications of another seven operators are being considered. Mr. M. W. Harris, chairman of Artco, has stated that inquiries from responsible hauliers in areas not yet covered by the group would be welcome.

OBITUARY WE regret to record the deaths of YV MR. GEORGE HEATH and MR. JAMES SIMPSON.

Mr. Heath was a director of Rootes, Ltd., with whom he had been associated since 1924. Chairman and founder of George Heath, Ltd., he claimed to be the first motor dealer in the Midlands. A friend of Mr. Henry Ford and Mr. Andre Citroen, and the first man to ascend in a free balloon from the centre of Birmingham, in 1910, Mr. Heath was 79.

Mr. Simpson, who was 57, was the head of Messrs. Simpson Motors, Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, bus operators.

NUFFIELD PRICE CHANGES

PRICES for Morris and MorrisCommercial vehicles revised in the light of the higher purchase tax now applicable have been published by the Nuffield Organization. Typical prices, .in total, are as follows—

Morris 5-net. van (painted), £402 Is. 9d.; 5-cwt,

pick-up (painted), £396 Is. 911.; 10-cwt. van, (painted), £566 I3s. 5d.; 10-cwt. pick-up (painted), £556 13s. 5d.; Morris-CommerciaL 10-cwt. van, £477 10s. lid.; I-ton van (petrol), £722 Is. Id.; extra for 2.2-litre oil engine. £118 15s.; 11/2-ton lorry (petrol); £664 13s. Id.; extra for 3.4-litre

oil engine, £200: 2-3-ton normal-control chassis and cab (petrol), £753 2s. 7d.; 2-3-ton forward. control chassis and cab (oil). £950 Os. 80.; 5-ton Forward-control long-wheelbase drop-sider (oil), £1,318 6s. 6d.;, 7-ton drop-sider (oil), £1.641 6s. td.; LC5 ambulance (petrol). £105 10s. 70. Purchase tax, when applicable. making £553 Os. 76. total.