0-licence revoked over maintenance
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• The licence held by Donald MacDonald and Gilbert McLellan, trading as D MacDonald & Co, of Benbecula, was revoked when they failed to attend an Inverness disciplinary inquiry.
The Balavanich Airport-based firm, which held a licence authorising the operation of one vehicle, had been called before the Scottish Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts because of concern over its maintenance standards. The company had appeared at a public inquiry in August 1997 when it was given a warning about its future maintenance standards after giving an assurance that its fitter would be sent on an HGV inspector's course.
The Commissioner said that in August 1998 the firm's vehicle was given an immediate prohibition showing a significant maintenance failure for a steering-axle metal brake pipe which was corroded and holed, allowing brake fluid to escape.
The vehicle examiner reported that the defect had been noted and reported by the driver two days previously. The vehicle then covered a further 167km with no action apparently being taken to rectify the defect. The examiner also reported that the fitter had not attended an HGV inspector's course; there was no forward planning system; there was no quality control system; and the maintenance facilities were inadequate with no provision for under-vehicle inspection.
Revoking the licence with immediate effect, Betts said it was apparent that there had been no improvement in the firm's standards of maintenance.
It had totally failed, without explanation, to abide by the assurance he was given last year that the fitter would be sent on an inspector's course, which was suggested as a means of
raising standards. And on the last occasion McLellan had acknowledged that he had left it all to the unqualified fitter and would now have to pay more attention to maintenance.
This he had failed to do, and the Commissioner said he could no longer have any faith in the firm's adherence to the requirements of road safety