Sack again' haulier curtailed
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"WHY are you back again ?" a Maidstone haulier was asked by Mr R. S. Thornton, South Eastern LA, who was taking his first freight public inquiry last week at Maidstone since his appointment in November last year. The company had been before the previous LA for similar offences in 1974.
Underwood Haulage (Maidstone) Ltd had Its licence curtailed by seven vehicles and six trailers and two specified vehicles were suspended for three months for overloading and defective vehicle convictions and incurring a number of prohibition notices.
For the company, Maj R. G. Champion said that the position was not as bad as might at first appear for, owing to the time lag between the commission of the offences and prosecution, only two of the overloading offences had actually taken place after the previous public inquiry.
There was a great deal of difficulty in establishing overloadings on axles. It was possible for gross weights to be within the prescribed maximum but for axle weights to be in excess of those allowed. This is what had happened on two occasions here and it could be that the load had shifted in transit.
The defective vehicle convictions referred to tyre conditions which, because these vehicles carried scrap metal, could have been caused by metal lying 'about in scrap yards.