Disqualified driver drove under assumed name
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WHEN a vehicle belonging to Molhan's Haulage Ltd, of Lancaster, was stopped in a spot check the driver, John Henry Jackson, gave his name as Lewis. The documents carried in the vehicle were also in the name of Lewis, and it was only later that he revealed his real name. Further enquiries then revealed that Jackson had been disqualified from driving following a breathtest conviction.
This was said by Mr J. S. Lawton, prosecuting, before the Lancaster magistrates on Monday, when Jackson pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, failing to notify the Licensing Authority of his disqualification being the holder of an hgv licence; and failing to surrender his licence on disqualification.
Mr Lawton said that it was not proposed to offer any evidence on three further summonses against the defendant of driving while disqualified. Information given by Jackson showed that he was not the driver on those occasions. The position was that there were a number of charges pending against the company and its secretary, a Mr Donaldson. A warrant had been issued for the arrest of Mr Donaldson but so far the police had been unable to execute it. So far as the company was concerned, it was also likely that the North Western LA would consider whether it was fit to hold an operator's licence.
For the defendant Mr L. Howarth said Mr Jackson had undertaken only the one journey and he realized how wrong he had been to do so. The disqualification had expired in March 1974 but the defendant was now liable to further disqualification under the totting-up procedure. He asked the magistrates to find that there were special reasons for not imposing a further disqualification.
The magistrates fined Jackson 00 for driving while disqualified and E5 on each of the hgv licence offences. He was ordered to pay £5 costs. In their discretion the magistrates decided not to disqualify Mr Jackson from driving.