Licenses made clear
Page 21
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ANYONE operating for hire or reward with a restricted 0 licence will be liable to a fine not exceeding £200 and, if he has been convicted of this offence in the preceding five years, his licence will be revoked.
Henry Mackie, chief enforcement officer for the South Eastern Traffic Area, told the South Eastern Counties Division of the Freight Transport Association that it is very important to apply for the correct 0 licence.
Although the requirement of an Operator's Licence for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross plated weight — except exempted vehicles — will remain unchanged, from January 1 1978 two classes of licence will be issued, a restricted 0 licence or a standard 0 licence.
A restricted 0 licence will be needed for goods vehicles operating on an own account basis only, whereas a standard 0 licence will be needed for goods vehicles used for hire and reward, whether or not they are also used on an own account basis.
Restricted 0 licences are valid for both national and in ternational operations, but a standard 0 licence will be issued for either national and international operations or national operations only.
Anyone operating internationally on a national operations only standard licence will be liable to a fine not exceeding £100 and can also have his licence revoked.
It is possible for an operator to apply for a change in the class or scope of his 0 licence.
For instance, the holder of a restricted 0 licence can apply to have it converted to a standard 0 licence provided that he can meet the additional requirements.
An operator holding a national operations only licence can apply to convert it to a national and international operations licence again provided that he can meet the additional requirements.
Henry Mackie then explained that the requirements needed for a restricted 0 licence are exactly the same as those for the pre-1978 licence.
However, an operator seeking a standard 0 licence must not only fulfil the pre-1978 requirements, but he must satsify the licensing authority that he is of good repute, has appropriate financial standing and is professionally competent, or that he will employ a full-time transport manager who is professionallly competent and of good repute.
The licensing authority will take into account any relevant convictions over the previous five years in determining whether or not an applicant is of good repute.