1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140 
Delayed GV9s more serious than immediates, rules court
Page 36
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A delayed prohibition was more serious than an immediate prohibition, Mr C. Hugh James, the South Wales deputy LA, told a Cardiff transport company at a public inquiry in Cardiff, last week. He removed the margin on the licence of Ely Transport Ltd, Cardiff, for a number of prohibition notices and two prosecutions for overloading as well as curtailing the licence by 10 vehicles and six trailers for four months from June 12.
Appearing for Ely Transport, Mr Lloyd Edwards said that the company's licence was for 54 vehicles and 32 trailers. It was actually operating 51 vehicles and 31 trailers. The inquiry was in relation to four immediate and 35 delayed prohibitions which the company had incurred and he suggested that these were not excessive in consideration of the number of vehicles operated and the period to which they referred.
Mr Edwards said that he proposed only to go into the immediate prohibitions. These were in respect of a shunting tractor at the firm's Cardiff works, which was not specified on the licence, and another vehicle which had a defective tyre.
The works tractor was not taxed or insured and, at the time of the issue of the prohibition, was being used by the driver to go down the road to a canteen to get a cup of coffee. This should not have been done, he said.
The defective tyre had been caused by loose wheel nuts which had been left slack by a representative of the tyre company. The tyre firm had accepted responsibility for this and the case against Ely Transport and its driver had been dismissed in court.
The delayed prohibitions had been incurred because of an unsatisfactory make of vehicle which had now been changed. The overloading offences had arisen because out of 15 new vehicles only one had been plated at 14 tons gross; the others were plated for 15 tons. Because the vehicles were identical in every ..respect it was difficult to identify the one with the smaller plated weight on occasions. This was the vehicle in question in June last year when the offence was overloading both on an axle and on the gross weight.
On the second occasion, in March 1973, the overall weight was within the permitted limits but the vehicle was overloaded on one axle. This was attributable to the difficulty that drivers found in directing the loading of the vehicle by customers' employees.
The company had been troubled with ill health among its staff and the workshop manager had a heart condition. A firm of consulting engineers had been called in to advise the company on its maintenance facilities and had been given a free hand to improve matters.
Mr Hugh James pointed out that because an immediate prohibition might be imposed for a defective brake cylinder or fractured brake pipe, which defects could have occurred in a moment, he considered that the delayed prohibition was of a more serious nature.
He dealt, also, with an application by Mr R. J. Greatrex, also managing director of Ely Transport, for the renewal of an operator's licence in his name. He would renew the licence for Mr Greatrex but in the case of Ely Transport it was clear that he must have regard to the formidable list of prohibitions over the past three years.
Although the company was doing its best to put its house in order he felt that action should be taken and the licence was curtailed as described.