Albu issues a warning
Page 16
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• Chesterbased Littlers escaped with a warning, when it appeared at disciplinary proceedings before North Western LA Martin Albu to answer for a poor maintenance record.
Dip vehicle examiner Roger Byron said that the number of prohibition notices issued in roadside checks, and the seriousness of the defects found, resulted in a fleet check last September.
He had examined eight vehicles, issuing one immediate prohibition, three delayed prohibitions and two defect notices.
The defects were of long standing and indicated a degree of neglect and inspection records were virtually non-existent. Inspections were said to be monthly, but only two inspection records were produced and they had not been fully completed.
The company had received a previous warning letter about its maintenance records.
Managing director Ronald Littler said that one of the earlier prohibitions had related to four tyres which were said to be the wrong size. In fact the plating certificate was wrong, not the tyres.
The profits were such that the maintenance of the vehicles was not a problem — in the past 12 months 2.51,200 had been spent on spares.
Asked how he accounted for four out of eight vehicles being found defective, Littler said vehicles were inspected all the time as they came in and out of the depot. He agreed that the company had not had a wall chart so that it could have regular and frequent inspections, but a wall chart had been obtained the very next day and the vehicles were now inspected every six weeks. He thought that was sufficient as they were really in very good order. The company had bought a testers' manual and instituted a drivers' defect report book.