Authority increased, licence on hold
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• Graham and Kim Ascroft, trading as Ascroft Produce, of Holmes Tarleton, Preston have applied for a new international licence for 15 vehicles and 25 trailers. North Western LA Martin Albu adjourned the bid because he is concerned about Graham Ascroft's repute, but he increased the company's interim authority from six vehicles to the 12 that they are currently operating.
Before reaching a decision the LA wants DOT traffic examiners to make a further check on the firm's tacho records.
He also wants to see its transport manager.
Albu said that in June 1991 the firm's predecessor, G Ascroft & Son, was granted a licence for seven vehicles and six trailers, with a condition that only six vehicles were to be specified. Ascroft had since admitted that it had actually operated up to 10 vehicles.
For the partners, John Backhouse said that the limited company was wound up in 1993 and the operation continued in the partners' own names. They did not realise that the licence issued to the limited company did not allow this.
Since the last public inquiry the access to the operating centre had been improved. As a result they thought the licence condition limiting the number of vehicles no longer applied.
The problems that had been experienced were due to Graham Ascroft's dyslexia. There were now two CPC holders and last August they had employed a transport manager, Andrew Collier, with day-to-day responsibility for the transport operation. In reply to the LA, Ascroft said Collier had failed to warn the partners that they were running too many vehicles.
Ascroft agreed that there were gaps in the mileages when a traffic examiner checked the firm's tachograph charts. He said drivers were given written warnings about handing in their charts. The missing charts had now been given to the traffic examiner, he added. Missing mileage was not picked up as the charts had been analysed per driver and not per vehicle.