Company ran Ipswich depot
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by 'remote control'
• At the resumed public inquiry into Crow Carrying Co Ltd, of Ipswich, on Wednesday, an application to add 10 vehicles and 10 trailers was withdrawn before the licence for eight vehicles and eight trailers was curtailed by suspending two vehicles and two trailers for three months.
At the original hearing on June 27, Mr Peter John Reeves, managing director, told the deputy Eastern LA Mr Gerald Kidner that his fleet maintenance arrangements were controlled from a depot in the metropolitan area where all records were kept. Mr Kidner replied that this was very much against the spirit of the Act and that vehicle examiners expected to be able to inspect vehicles and records together. The case was adjourned for the company to consider the records position; referring on Wednesday to a total breakdown in the company's maintenance in the autumn of 1972, Mr Kidner said a fleet inspection in December brought eight delayed GV9s and one immediate, an appalling number for this fleet.
He considered much of the trouble was due to the company operating from a car park in Ipswich where only a foreman driver was in charge. While the company was a substantial one with 120 vehicles in London and 63 in Manchester, Ipswich was being run by remote control. Mr Kidner added that there were still gaps in the maintenance schedules and this would be his final warning to the company. If at an inspection in six months' time all was not well, the company would be in danger of losing its licence.
Mr Reeves said that the matters raised would receive his personal attention. It was his aim as a reputable operator to see that the company ran properly.