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Buxton death crash ban on bus operator
Page 26
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THE MINISTER of Transport has overruled his own inspector in an important decision for the coaching industry. He has decided that an operator in whose coach six pensioners lost their lives in an accident near Buxton, Derbyshire, in connection with which there were still outstanding charges, should not be allowed to get his licence back until the charges were tried.
For the purpose of psv licensing, he thought, the phrase "of good repute" is not restricted solely to the operator's conduct as a psv operator; other considerations were relevant, and the operator had not yet re-established his reputation.
The Minister was considering his own inspector's judgment on an appeal by William Maye, trading as Mayhire Coaches, Astley, against a decision by the North Western Traffic Commissioners to refuse a psv licence for two of his vehicles.
The Minister agreed with the inspector that the Traffic Commissioners had been wrong to restrict themselves wholly to evidence of Mr Maye's conduct as an operator. They should have been prepared to accept other evidence, he said.
Where the Minister disagreed with the inspector was over the seriousness of shortcomings in the operator's vehicles between April and September 1978. The traffic Commissioners had decided that these were sufficiently serious to decide that Mr Maye was not "of good repute", but the inspector decided on appeal that because the serious situation lasted only a short time and Mr Maye had made strenuous attempts to improve matters, to allow Mr Maye's appeal.
Mr Maye has re-established his reputation and his appearance against the Traffic Commissioners' decision should be allowed, said the inspector.
The Minister noted, though, that the police had preferred charges against Mr Maye in September 1978, following the accident. These matters might have been pursued by the Commissioners, thought the Minister.
It was wrong to make a decision on the applications until these prosecutions had been decided by the courts and until then, he said, the question of whether Mr Maye was of good repute was not free from doubt.