Tribunal Hears Appeals from Scottish Haulage Companies
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In Scotland last week, the Transport Tribunal heard a series of appeals. The decisions on these, reported on this page, involved several cuts on the original grants.
NORMAL USER PHRASING CRITICIZED BY TRIBUNAL
THEphrasing of a normal user declaration was criticized in a British Transport Commission appeal against a decision granting additional vehicles and trailers to William Cumming (Haulage), Ltd., of Paisley. The Tribunal decided to reduce the Scottish Licensing Authority's _grant by one vehicle, and
also to change the normal user.
The president of the Tribunal, Sir Hubert Hull, criticized the use of the phrase "and elsewhere asdesired." It was far too sweeping, he said. The company's normal user had . read: " Goods to be carried, thread, yarn, textiles,, agricultural products, •furniture and general goods within a 25-mile radius
and elsewhere as desired."
It was hardly likely, said Sir Hubert, that the vehicles would be sent where. they were not desired. Its outlining the case, Sir Hubert said that since December of last year the shares of William Cummings had been in the hands of the McKelvie company.
As might have been expected, owing to the illness of Mr. Cummings, the business had not been operating to full capacity and, as was to be expected from a company of the energy of McKelvie, changes were to be expected in the kind of vehicles operated by the company.
NO MENTION OF TRAILER WEIGHTS: APPEALS FAIL THREE grants to McKelvie and Co.
1 (B.M. and P.), Ltd., involving additional vehicles, articulated units and trailers, resulted in seven appeals, which were heard jointly. in .delivering thejudgment of the Tribunal when dismissing the appeals, the president, Sir Hubert Hull, said that the appeals were "refreshing in that, contrary to the great mass of appeals heard, these turn on a precise point of law."
The appeals were by Gavin Wilkie, Ltd., .Robert Wynn and Sons, Ltd., Robert Wynn and Sons (Manchester), Ltd., The British Transport Commission, British Railways, British Road Services, Ltd., and I3.R.S, (PlekfordS), Ltd. The original 'application had included grants subject to the surrender of Specfal A licences.
Sir Hubert pointed out that the special A licence authorized the use of a number of motor vehicles and a specific number of trailers. Sir Hubert recalled that Mr. W. R. Grieve, Q.C., for the appellants, had told the court that the unladen weight of seven trailers concerned in one of the appeals had been "considerably increased " during the currency of the licence, issued in May. 1959.
Mr. Grieve submitted that none of the trailers should have exceeded the unladen 1312, weight which was in existence at the time of issue .of the licence. On this standing, the McKelvie company were doing something which they were not permitted to do. .
A question which required to be answered, added Sir Hubert, was: "What does the licensing form authorize the applicant to do?" In this case the licence authorized Mr. McKelvie to use the trailers with no reference to the unladen weight involved.
ROAD SERVICES (FORTH) GRANT CUT
THE Tribunal partly allowed an appeal by the British Transport Commission against the grant of two vehicles to Road Services (Forth), Ltd. The Commission had appealed against the grant of a vehicle to be based at Falkirk and another to be based at Alicia, Road Services had applied for four vehicles, and been granted two.
The Tribunal decided to allow Road Services (Forth) to keep the Falkirk vehicle, but to uphold the B.T.C. appeal concerning the Alicia-based vehicle.
For Road Services (Forth), Ltd., Mr. C. E. Jatincey said that the company had asked for the vehicles for maintenance purposes. The substitution procedure was not foolproof, and at week-ends and evenings it was in danger Of not working.
Road Services (Forth), he said, operated 112 vehicles and a considerable number of trailers. The purpose of the extra vehicles at Falkirk and Alloa was to ease the tremendous pressure of business.
GOODS APPEALS LISTED .
Tfollowing appeals are to be heard by the Transport Tribunal in Watergate House, second floor, 15 York Buildings, Adelphi, London, W.C.2.
October 25: The British Transport Commission against Ernest Thorpe and Co., Ltd.
October 26: Shephard and Hough, Ltd., against 24 respondents. H. Kendrick, Ltd., against the B.T.C.
October 27: E. Nelson and Sons, and four other appellants. against T. Brady and Sons. The B.T.C. against Sicldle C. Cook, Ltd.
October 28: D. L. Blake.
AN ATKINSON OCCASION
nVER 60 members of the Institute of `--1 Road Transport Engineers, representing the Manchester. Yorkshire, and North Western branches, made a full tour of inspection of the Atkinson works,
Walton-le-Dale, last week. They were welcomed by Mr. B. F. Caunt, managing director of Atkinson Vehicles, Ltd., who described the evolution of the organization and its products over the past 40 years.
Haulier and Employee Fined for Fraud
.1-1 A BOGNOR, Sussex, haulier, Ronald
Grenville Eric Pierce, 57, of Alleyn Way, Bognor Regis, and Gerald Francis Nagle, 48, of Grenvill Cottage, Buckingham Road, I-lohriwood, Surrey, pleaded guilty at Surrey Quarter Sessions last week after having earlier pleaded not guilty to conspiring to defraud the Inland Revenue over payments to employees Pierce was fined 4100 and Nagle £50. . . Pierce also pleaded guilty to three charges of making false statements in an employer's annual declaration of tax payments. He was fined £50 on each of these charges and was ordered to pay £100 costs.
Mr, C. G. L. Du Cann, prosecuting, said that Pierce was managing director of a haulage company consisting of him• self and his wife. Nggle was a driver for 25 years and became manager last year. It was alleged, said Mr. Du Cann, that drivers .employed by the company were paid "night out" expenses when, in fact, they were not away from home. The payments were taxable, but were not disclosed in the employer's return to the Inland Revenue.
Mr. G. Haliewell, an Inland Revenue officer, said that there had been an underpayment of £411 tax in respect of drivers and £13 in respect of Nagle himself.
Mr. Michael Fastharri, defending, said that full restitution had been made. If payments of 3s. 4d, a week tax had been made in respect of employees, the matter would have been settled. Pierce had been "got down" by the complexities of modern life with all its regulations and had decided to put his business up for sale. Bonuses had been paid in a rather muddle-headed way, but no attempt had been made to conceal them.
BLACK SMOKE FINES • TWO hauliers and their drivers were fined at Southwell, Nottingham, magistrates' court last Friday. Yorkshire .Metals, Ltd., of Stourton,.Leeds, pleaded guilty to using a vehicle which emitted smoke that could endanger thesafety of other road users. Evans was fined £2, and his employers £5. The company wrote to the court saying that the vehicle was checked immediately on its return and new injectors fitted.
Similar summonses were brought against Henry Long (Carriers), Ltd., 'Of Bradford, and Geoffrey Harold Townend, Bradford, a driver. In a letter to the.eourt Townend said he had gone to Nottingham to pick up an injured driver. It was the first time he had driven the vehicle in question.
He was given a discharge; his employers were fined 15.
YOUR HEALTH, SIR
PkOFESSOR R. E. Lane is to address the Institutionof Prod u ct i on Engineers on "Health Services in Industry" on November 10 at the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, London, W.1.