Licensing Authorities' Annual Reports
Page 33
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AT the end of December, 1961, there were 185,200 A, Contract A and B-licensed vehicles in Great Britain. This was an increase of 3,200 over 1960. The number of C-licensed vehicles at December last increased to 1,253,800— an increase of 49,400 over 1960, The number of operators, at the end of last year, was as follows (with the 1960 figures in brackets):—A licence 15,300 (14,700); Contract A 12,900 (11,800); B 34,730 (34,000); C 573,600 (563,300).
The foreword to the annual reports of the Licensing Authorities for the year ended September 30 last—published on Wednesday—said of these figures that the statistics had been compiled on a new basis, opportunity having been taken to "weed out" dead entries of A and B licences. The same was being done at present with records of C licences relating to vehicles of over three tons unladen.
In the Northern area no new A licences were granted during the year to newcomers. The number of applications to transfer contract vehicles to A or B licences was still noteworthy. There had been a most noticeable increase in objections during the year from private hauliers-1,201 compared with 388 in the previous year. "It seems that established hauliers are more aware of their rights and more jealous in guarding them," said the LA. There was a slight increase in the number of vehicles examined during the year. Black smoke was still prevalent and on occasions was a grave danger to other road users.
As he has done in previous years the Yorkshire LA. again complains of failure on the part of certain applicants to appear at public sittings. A growing number of vehicles described variously as " minibuses " or " personnel carriers" were authorized on carriers' licences; it was not always easy for local taxation officers to classify these vehicles.
After reaching a peak in 1959-60 the number of applications for new C licences dropped to the level of three years ago_ There appeared to be widespread abuse of Contract A-licensed vehicles, as convictions increased more than threefold. The L.A. also complained of the attitude of many lay magistrates who imposed inadequate penalties.
The tendency for Contract A licence iolders to seek conversion of these licences to ordinary ones showed little or no sign of abating in the North Western area. C-licence applications increased during the year. There was room for considerable improvement in the condition of goods vehicles and it seemed desirable to inspect a greater proportion. There bad been little or no improvement during the year in the preparation by many applicants of their cases and it might well become necessary to allow less latitude with these time-wasting practices in future. There were grounds for believing that the introduction of " middle-men " on tipper contract work had in some instances weakened respect for traffic laws.
In the West Midland area the L.A. stated: "Although the fall in prohibitions is. encouraging, it is too early for jubilation. I believe that the work of the Maintenance Advisory Committee has helped considerably in this connection, but there will always be room for improvement." in the early part of the year the use of unauthorized vehicles on major road projects gave rise to some concern, but the problem had now largely disappeared because of the co-operation of main contractors. Falsification of records of drivers' hours remained a very serious problem; it was clear that the majority of operators considered their responsibilities were discharged with the supply of blank record sheets to drivers.
The emission of black smoke continued to be the subject of much concern to the East Midland LA; a total of 462 warning letters had been sent out. There was little to indicate an improvement on the part of drivers and operators generally to observe closely the law relating to hours of driving or the keeping of correct records. Many newcomers paid insufficient attention either to the law or to commercial principles of economic operation.
Unlike his colleague in the Northern area, the Eastern L.A. found a decrease in objections by private road hauliers from 704 in 1960 to 477 last year. Difficulty was still experienced with the issue of short-term B licences for public works projects. Unless special evidence was forthcoming from the contractors as to urgency, these applications would take the normal course. The number of prohibition brders because of excessive exhaust smoke from diesel-engined vehicles rose from 403 in the previous year to 492 last year. The general standard of maintenance showed little change.
In the South Wales area the standard of maintenance showed a slight improvement. While the standard of larger operators was generally satisfactory there was room for much improvement in the case of some of the small operators, particularly one-vehicle C-licensees. Many four-Wheeled vehicles had been replaced by six-wheelers to meet the demands of the steel industry for larger-capacity vehicles.
Of the 74 new A licences granted only one was issued to a newcomer in the Western area. Applications made during the year reflected the changing pattern of the haulage industry. The L.A. remarked: "The injection of new blood into the industry on proof of need is not a bad thing, but the backdoor entry leads more often than not to pitiable results." The number of C hiring allowances was still decreasing. There had been no noticeable improvement in the maintenance of the vehicles owned by many of the smaller operators, whose motto seemed to be: "If it goes, it's all right," It was too early to say whether the examination of smaller goods vehicles under the vehicle testing scheme had made any appreciable impact on general maintenance.
The South Eastern L.A. reported a sharp increase in the number of objections with the greatest number coming from private hauliers. Much waste of time for himself and his staff and considerable unnecessary expense for objectors continued to result from last-minute withdrawals and inadequately prepared cases. Black smoke remained a great problem but other commitments for the enforcement staff had prevented effective action.
The number of applications in the Metropolitan area for Contract A licences remained at almost the same high level reported the previous year. The L.A. was concerned about the misuse of Contract A licences. It was apparent in some cases that take-over applicants had little or no intention, of continuing the business of the vendor. The number of convictions for unlicensed operation continued to increase. There were 1,347 such convictions last year compared with 80I the previous year and 208 the year before that. The L.A. remarked: "My traffic examiners will continue to spend much of their time tracking down malefactors."
The Scottish L.A. also reported an increase in the number of applications for Contract A licences. There were fewer applications for C licences. • The standard of maintenance of the heavier type of vehicle remained reasonable, but the lighter type of 13-cwt. to 3-ton capacity had shown no marked improvement; the vehicle testing scheme had assisted towards improving the maintenance of lighter vehicles. Continuing efforts were being made to combat the emission of black smoke.