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International licence lost

18th July 1991, Page 14
18th July 1991
Page 14
Page 14, 18th July 1991 — International licence lost
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Albu, Surnames, Tachograph

• The eightvehicle international licence held by Thomas Gordon, trading as Gordons of Kirkbride, has been revoked by North Western Traffic Commissioner Martin Albu following convictions for the falsification of tacho charts.

But Albu says that an application for a national licence might well be granted.

In April Gordon, of Carleton, Kirkbride, pleaded guilty at Carlisle Crown Court to 36 counts of aiding and abetting drivers to make false entries on charts and three counts of making false declarations in applications for vehicle excise licences.

He was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years and fined £18,300 with £1,500 costs.

For Gordon, William Waldron said that the offences arose when Gordon could not afford to employ three drivers on Continental trips for a major tour operator who had the financial muscle to dictate terms.

Gordon had made no profit out of the offences, and that was shown by the fact that he was not serving an immediate prison sentence, said Waldron. He had a spotless record on maintenance and safety and since the convictions he had meticulously checked the tachograph charts.

Two drivers found to be infringing the regulations had been sacked.

In evidence, Gordon said that he had lost the Continental work because of the adverse publicity. He was currently running six vehicles on school contract and private hire work.

Waldron argued that the legislation was aimed at withdrawing licences from those who, in the public interest, should have them withdrawn. Gordon was providing a service to the local

community. His interests, those

of his employees and of the locality, had to be considered.

Albu pointed out that new regulations introduced last October required him to find an individual to have lost his good repute if he had been convicted of serious offences. "Serious" was defined as an offence which led to a jail term exceeding three months, a fine of over level four, or a community service order for more than 60 hours.

In reply Waldron maintained that those regulations were not retrospective and Gordon's offences had been committed before they came into force. Albu told him that the offences had been extremely serious. Drivers who exceeded the hours limits caused serious danger. There was also the aspect of unfair competition: if some operators thought they could work longer hours, and thus cut their rates, it put pressure on others to follow suit.

Revoking the existing licence with effect from the end of August, Albu said that he recommended that Gordon apply for a new licence for national operations only. Provided nothing came to light in the meantime, such an application might well be granted.


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