Prohibitions hit fleet
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A Somerset haulier had his iicence authorisation curtailed by one vehicle and one trailer at a Bristol public inquiry following a string of prohibitions.
Richard Cox, trading as RJ Cox Haulage, held a licence for three vehicles and two trailers based at Meadow Farm, Biddisham near Axbridge. Vehicle Inspectorate area manager Kenneth Hopley told the hearing that 12 prohibitions had been issued since 1996, seven of which were immediate. This equated to a prohibition rate of 39%.
A warning letter was sent to Cox after a fleet check in August 1999, l-lopley added, and Cox had replied with assurances that he would take steps to reduce the number of defects. However, six of the prohibitions have been issued since then.
"The operator also has an initial test pass rate of 25% which is very poor," Hopley told the hearing. When asked if maintenance had improved since the warning letter, Hopley said: "No. The prohibitions that have been issued since then lead me to make that comment." He pointed out that one prohibition showed a significant maintenance failure for an excessively warn brake drum which was breaking up.
Cox said that his two vehicles, both on C-plates, covered about 12,000km a month. He admitted that he hadn't carried out brake tests as promised but said that both the vehicles and trailers had been tested in the previous week. 1 will ensure that both vehicles are brake tested every other inspection," Cox said. "I didn't do it; I put my hand up to that.'
He added that he had put into effect a forward planning system of maintenance and a drivers' defect reporting system following the warning letter. Cutting the licence, Western Traffic Commissioner Phillip Brown told him: 'I do think it was very remiss of you not to deal with the brake problem as swiftly as you should. I have concluded that some disciplinary action is appropriate."