LA accepted jail lapse as history
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• No action was taken against the two-vehicle licence held by DL & RA Fretwell Haulage, of Ripley Derbys when they appeared at a Manchester disciplinary inquiry before North Western LA Martin Albu.
The LA asked partner Darren Fretwell why he had not reported his 1991 conviction for the possession of controlled drugs, for which he had served two years of a six-year prison sentence.
Fretwell replied that he had been convicted of an offence, which he still denied, after the licence application form had been submitted.
Albu told him that he should have been notified of the conviction after the licence was granted. Fretwell said that his brother Rayne was the CPC holder but Albu pointed out that as a partner Fretwell should have notified the Traffic Area.
DOT vehicle examiner Peter Biggs said he had visited the firm in June. Neither partner was present and no inspection records were available. He was told by the contract fitter that the vehicles were inspected on-site, which consisted of an area of gravel with no inspection pit or buildings. Biggs did not consider this to be satisfactory. The one vehicle he examined was given a defect notice.
Fretwell said that the company had used a pit at a commercial garage to carry out its inspections, Both vehicles were now inspected by commercial garages. Fretwell had inspection records but Albu noted that there were two records for the same vehicle, dated 28 and 30 July, with 1,000km between them. They were made out in different handwriting, but both had been signed by Fretwell.
Fretwell said that one of the records in question had been lost while it had been with the company's accountants.
Biggs said he had imposed an immediate prohibition on one of the firm's vehicles for a cracked spring and two loose wheelnuts. He accepted that a spring fracMre could arise at any time but was concerned about the wheelnuts, one of which was finger tight while the other could not be tightened at all, These were such obvious faults that there was no excuse for the driver's failure to spot them.
After the LA had pointed out that the vehicle concerned was registered in the name of its driver, Trevor Wragg, Fretwell said that Wragg was going to buy it and take over a contract with Longcliffe Quarries.
Albu said the vehicle needed to be registered in the firm's name: when Wragg bought the vehicle he would need his own 0-licence.
Taking no action, but reminding Fretwell of his obligations, Albu said he accepted that the failure to notify the conviction was now past history. There was evidence that the maintenance contract was being adhered to, so he accepted that there were now adequate maintenance arrangements. He knew times were hard, but Fretwell had to stick to the rules.