Cut decision is delayed to help drivers losing jobs
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• The licence held by James Timms Transport or Whitminster, Glos has been reduced from 21 vehicles and 12 trailers to 15 vehicles and eight trailers following convictions for drivers' hours offences, unauthorised use and the use of unauthorised operating centres. But Western Deputy Licensing Authority John Robins has delayed the implementation of his decision after hearing that the licence cut would cost the jobs of a number of drivers. Robins renewed the company's licence after it reduced its application from 23 vehicles and 22 trailers to 15 vehicles and eight trailers. Last February Stroud Magistrates fined the company £2,500 for five offences of unauthorised use and £1,000 for using an 0. licence identity disc with intent to deceive. In May it was ordered to pay £3,120 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to 31 offences of using unauthorised operating centres; six offences of permitting dri vers to exceed the daily driving limit and take insuf ficient daily rest; six offences of using vehicles when the drivers failed to use the tachographs in accordonce with the regulations; and one offence of failing to produce tachograph records.
Eleven of the company's drivers were fined a total of £3,400 (CM 20-26 April and 1 1-17 May1995).
For the company, Meinir Mathias told the DLA that the hours offences had arisen because drivers had missed ferries when coming back over the Channel, which was something outside their control. The use of the unauthorised operating centres had been due to convenience and a lack of security at the authorised centre. Robins said that the 998 tachograph charts examined by the Vehicle Inspectorate over a two-month period had revealed 502 offences, and the convictions recorded against the company and its drivers were purely specimen offences. It was possibly one of the worst cases in relation to numbers of offences he had had to deal with for some considerable time—the company had clearly known what was going on.
He had originally considered that he had no alternative but to revoke the licence. However, in view of Trnms' previous good record over some 30 years, he felt that it would be wrong to destroy the company and that it ought to be given an opportunity to continue in business and put this series of offences behind it.
Nevertheless, he could not overlook what had occurred and it called for severe punishment. Company fined last year for using 0-licence disc with intent to deceive.