aintenance warning
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• Cull ingworth Commercials & Freight Services of Bradford has been reprimanded over its maintenance standards and record of convictions, by North Eastern Deputy Licensing Authority Brian Horner.
In renewing the company's international licence for 23 vehicles and 15 trailers, Horner warned that a further maintenance investigation would be carried out within the next 12 months.
Eighteen prohibitions, including 10 immediate, had been imposed on the company's vehicles since May 1989.
Vehicle examiner Alexander Fiddes said that he had issued two immediate prohibitions and four defect notices after examining seven vehicles in December. The condition of the vehicles was unsatisfactory considering they had been prepared for his inspection.
A large proportion of the prohibitions issued were for defects that were "driver check" items.
The DLA commented that almost all the prohibitions since 1989 could have been avoided by an effective system for drivers to report defects.
Managing director Roger Feather said the criticism had been taken on board. Drivers had since been issued with written instructions and a revised defect report form.
Fiddes said that recent inspection records still showed a large number of defects he hoped that drivers would have picked up.
Horner commented that the situation had to improve if the company was to keep its licence in its present form. It was very much a "stable door" situation. "You must be getting to the end of stable door shutting. You must make sure the horse stops in," he said.
Feather said two convictions for using vehicles with out excise licences and the payment of a number of mitigating penalties arose due to bad administration. There had been no problems over drivers' hours since the company had revised its system of checks following convictions for permitting hours offences in 1989. A conviction for causing unnecessary suffering to chickens being carried arose at the factory where the chickens had been delivered. The company was prosecuted because the chickens were on their vehicle. As a result, there were some factories they would not now deliver chickens to. They had altered the type of vehicles carrying chickens, and now ran three-axled tractor units to avoid any further overloading convictions.
The convictions had not been notified to the Licensing Authority as he had not really been aware they had to be, said Feather.
For Cullingworth, Gary Hodgson said that financially the company was successful. The problems had been recognised and there had been a positive reaction.
Horner said he felt the company had been slow in introducing a proper defect reporting system. The system would only work if driven by management. It was too easy for vehicles to go out with dangerous defects if not properly checked.