OPINIONS and QUERIES
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Suggested Misdemeanours that may Constitute "Previous Conduct." Drivers' Hours Regula tions a Failure ?
WHAT IS PREVIOUS CONDUCT?
[4592] In the article entitled "What is ' Previous Conduct'? ", published in the issue of The Commercial Motor, dated July 12, you state, in connection with the term "previous conduct," in Section 6 (2) (b) of the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933, that, with two exceptions, you cannot call to mind any disregard of proper trade conduct that is not punishable as a breach of the conditions of a licence. May not the following be amongst the acts which the legislature had in view when it passed the section referred to? (1) Broaching a liquid load and consuming it; (2) conniving at the theft of goods; (3) the burning of a load and/or vehicle; (4) stealing a load or part of it and disposing of it; (5) false claims for indemnity against alleged
losses. APPELLANT. London, S.W.1.
WHY SOME DRIVERS WORK LONG HOURS.
[4593] In reply to the letter [45901 from Mr. F. A. FIM, published in your issue dated July 12, I think that the Road• and Rail Traffic Act, 1933, as regards drivers' rest times, is a complete washout. I am a long-distance driver myself and have been in places where there are no facilities for transport drivers. When you get to those places at night-time and your driving hours have expired, you are not there many seconds before the police come to shift you. If the driver then moves his wagon he is liable to be reported and fined.
The worst of it is that the tired driver may find that he has to travel 20 miles or more before he comes to a place where he thinks that he can be put up; but, to crown the lot, when he arrives there, he probably finds that he cannot get a bed. Is it any wonder that a driver sometimes works right through? Oh, to be a lorry driver now that so-called justice is here!
Longton. UNEMPLOYED DRIVER.
CARRYING GOODS IN A HACKNEY CARRIAGE.
[4594] I have read The Commercial Motor for the past 10 years. Would you kindly answer me the following questions through your paper? May I use a fourseater hackney carriage to carry goods for hire or reward? Do I require an A or B licence for carrying
goods in such a vehicle? HACKNEY. Coleford.
[You are entitled to use a four-seater hackney vehicle for carrying goods for reward so-long as you do not specially a28
adapt the vehicle for the conveyance of goods. That is to say, you must not take out the back seat, or put in shelves, or make any other alteration to the vehicle to enable goods to be carried. Subject to the points mentioned above you will not require an " A " or "B " licence for carrying goods in a hackney vehicle, because the Road and Rail Traffic Act applies only to vehicles which are constructed or adapted for the conveyance of goods. There is no limitation to the class of goods which may be carried in a hackney vehicle. You must, however, notify the Licensing Authority with which your vehicle is licensed, that you intend to use it for the carriage of goods, and send them the licence in order that they may show on it that the vehicle will be used for carrying goods. You must also notify the company with which you are insured against third-party risks that you intend to use your vehicle for the carriage of goods, and satisfy yourself that they will keep you insured while the vehicle is being so used. They may require you to pay an additional premium. No additional licence duty will be payable so long as the vehicle is not adapted for the conveyance of goods.—En.]
LICENSING COMPLICATIONS CAUSED BY CREATING A PARTNERSHIP.
[4595] I would be very grateful if you would advise me as to the following:—When a father brings his sons into a business, does the business have to be registered solely because he puts "and Sons" after his name? If so, where does it have to be registered and what effect will it have on the business under the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933? E.C.S. Sheffield.
[It is not necessary for a father who brings his sons into his business and who trades in his own name, with the addition of the words "and Sons," to register under the Business Names Act. Where a man takes his sons into his business, a partnership is created if the sons share in the profits of the business, even though there is nol written partnership deed. Normally, where a partnership is created, the partners acquire the assets of the business, which would include the vehicles which the father previously used in connection with the business. As licences under the Road and Rail Traffic Act are not transferable, application should be made to the Licensing Authority for a new licence in the names of the partners, in place of the licence which is held by the father. It does not appear that in a proper case there should be any difficulty in obtaining a new licence, but we suggest that, in the first place, the father should place the facts before the Clerk to the Authority. Upon the creation of a partnership which takes over a motor vehicle, notice should be given to the county council with which the
• vehicle is licensed, and the necessary alteration made in the Registration Book. Notice should also be given
to the insurance company with which the vehicle is insured, and the necessary endorsement made upon the pol iCy , —ED . ] ANOTHER " HOURS " PROBLEM.
[4596] A driver on our firm has been pulled up by the Bristol police and reported for having an incorrect log sheet. This man was on a night run from Reading to Bristol, which, by the way, is part of a regular London-Bristol service.
The hours marked on this run commence at 7.30 p.m. and finish at 7.30 a.m., one hour at the end of the first 5,1 being given for rest and refreshment. It is then 12 hours before the driver starts again. This is wrong, according to the police; they claim that from 2 a.m. until 7.30 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. until 1 a.m. makes 11 hours' work for that 24 hours, regardless of the 12 hours off duty between these times.
I should like your opinion on this matter, because so many firms have to work these night services that an adverse judgment may upset a lot of night. work. The time of starting may vary a little according to circumstances, but always it works out to the same amount of
time on and time off. PUZZLED. Reading.
[We understand that your daily records deal with the period from 7.30 p.m. on one day to 7.30 p.m, on the next day, and record that the driver last ceased work at 7.30 a.m.:
that he commenced work at 7.30 p.m. ; that he had an interval of rest from 1.0 a.m. to 2.0 a.m. on the following day, and that he ceased work at 7.30 a.m. on that day, the total time worked, excluding intervals of rest, being 11 hours. We also understand that the police suggest that the record each day should start from 2.0 a.m. That does not appear to us to be correct. It is true that Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, provides that no person shall drive for continuous periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 11 hours in any period of 24 hours commencing two hours after midnight, but for the purpose of the keeping of records the Goods Vehicles (Keeping of Records) Regulations, 1935, which came into force on April zs, 1935, provides in para. 6 that every driver shall keep and every holder of a licence shall cause to be kept a current record divided into periods of 24 consecutive hours which shall 'give, in respect of each such period during which or during any part of which the driver was employed in driving, the information prescribed. Although Form 3, which is to be used by hilltime drivers on journey work, is headed " Daily.Record of Hours of Work, Journeys and Loads," it appears to us that having regard to the wording of para.. 6 it is not intended that in every case the record shall be in respect of one actual day, i.e., from midnight to midnight, but that it shall be in respect of a period of 24 consecutive hours, notwithstanding that such period covers parts of two days. It is evident that the particulars "date and time last ceased work" refer to the time when the driver last went off duty, and not merely the time when he commenced an intermediate interval of rest. We shall be obliged if you will let us know if you hear anything furtlaer from the police in regard to this matter.—ED.]