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TC fires warning shot over poor maintenance
Page 25
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Maintenance pro
! blems have seen
a Carmarthen livestock dealer's Operator's Licence suspended for two weeks.
David Lewis had been called before the Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon at a Port Talbot disciplinary inquiry.
Apologising for his client's non-attendance, Ray Saltiel, for Lewis, said that he took the Public Inquiry very seriously, but he had to be at a large livestock sale. His non-attendance was not intended to be a slight.
Vehicle examiner Keith John said that prohibitions had been issued to Lewis' vehicles in 2000. There was also a maintenance investigation in January 2002 during which a delayed prohibition was issued. There was no forward-planning system in place and mileages were not entered on the inspection records.
No vehicles were checked during a maintenance investigation in December as they had all recently been tested, said John. Again, there was no forwardplanning system, inspection records were not properly completed and the drivers' defect reporting system required more care. Suggestions made previously had not been taken seriously.
John said that defects listed on the prohibitions included a faulty tyre, finger-tight wheelnuts, loose mounting bolts and a damaged driver's cab step.
Saltiel said that Lewis had realised late in the day that he could not continue in the same vein. He had now put his maintenance in the hands of a commercial garage and had "beefed up" his inspections.
Saltiel said that he would personally visit Lewis three times a year as an audit check. Given an opportunity, Lewis would re-establish himseff over the next 12 months and the TC would not see a repeat of previous errors.
However, the TC suspended the licence, adding that he had to bring home the seriousness of the case to Lewis. As this was a restricted licence his absence was excused; it was a longstanding licence, but there had been a serious maintenance failure over a period of two years.
"The picture I have is one of listening and then doing nothing about it," said the TC. "He is a busy man overtaken by events, but he still has to get things right."