Permits : Illegal Action by Hauliers Condemned
Page 38
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE Transport Act must be fought democratically with constitutional methods. This advice was given by Mr. Stanley Moss, chairman of the Amalgamated Horse and Motor Vehicles Association of Manchester, to members of the Birmingham Horse and Motor Vehicle Owners Association, in Birmingham, last week.
Replying to a member who had called for support for the resolution defying the revocation of permits by the Road Haulage Executive, which was passed at a meeting of the Road Haulage Association" in Birmingham, Mr. Moss vigorously condemned illegal action. Both the haulier and his customer would have to pay heavy fines if the law were broken, he said. Moreover, the hauliers would almost certainly lose their licences.
Industry could not be expected to support free enterprise under these conditions. The position would be met by the purchase of more C-licence vehicles. The R.H.E.'s intentions could be thwarted without resorting to C-hiring licences. The R,H.A.'s resolution, Mr. Moss said, was a flagrant challenge to the law and. if put into effect, hauliers would lose the sympathy of industry and of the public.
Mr. Moss also warned hauliers against refusing acquisition as an act of definace to keep vehicles off the road. The needs of industry would have to be met and, again, there would be an increase in the number of C-licence vehicles. The Transport Act would fail sooner or later and a nucleus of freeenterprise vehicles operating on longdistance services must be maintained in readiness, but precipitate action would be both dangerous and undemocratic.
Advising hauliers on the technicalities of compensation, Mr. Moss said: "If the R.H.E. valuation Is above the income-lax valuation, object to balancing charges. The Association is of the opinion that a business which is taken over ceases legally to exist when the licences are surrendered to the Licensing Authority. In these circumstances, balancing charges do not apply. Tyres are not included in an over-maintenance valuation, and the value of the vehicle will not be greater because new tyres are fitted."
Asked for advice on the circumstances in which a haulier should apply for acquisition. Mr. Moss suggested that in the average case a haulier would find it uneconomic to carry on if more than 25 per cent. of his business were affected by the revocation of a permit. Undoubtedly, a number of hauliers would be granted ordinary permits, but these could be withdrawn at 24 hours' notice, and related profits did not represent normal business.