Hired Vehicles Left `Security Gap'
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LIMED vehicles with no security I 'devices left "a very large gap" in measures against pilfering, said Mr. J. Brown, a director of Atlas Express Ltd., of Rotherhithe, in London last week.
The company applied for eight additional vehicles on an A licence to carry general goods, mainly smalls, within 25 miles, and on trunk routes to the company's other depots. The application was opposed by British Railways and British Road Services.
Mr. Brown, who is the chairman of the Vehicles Security Committee of the Road Haulage Association, said We have a security device on all our London vehicles and this is most important. One of the problems is that not all hired vehicles are so equipped and, of course, it leaves a very big gap in our security ".
He added that security officers had complained because hired vehicles were not driven by the same drivers every day. This made identification difficult.
Questioned by Mr. R. Yorke, for B.R.S., Mr. Brown said his firm had to refuse business "on an enormous and ever-growing scale ", not only from new customers but from existing ones also.
After four firms had supported the application Mr. W. Bridges, the Atlas Express claims manager, said that in a period of 10 months there had been 54 complaints about B.R.S. work done for the firm.
At this point the hearing was adjourned until Monday.
When the hearing was resumed Mr. Richard Yorke said that he had been instructed not to withdraw the B.R.S. objection, but to offer no evidence and to take no further part in the hearing. He said that this had nothing to do with the evidence that had been heard which had been critical of British Road Services. "%'c would have been able to rebut that ", he said.
Mr. D. 1. R. Muir, the Metropolitan Licensing Authority, commented that the line taken by B.R.S. in the ease had not been altogether satisfactory.
"There has been a certain amount of fog about the case from the start ", he said.
Mr. Muir granted the application.
Atlas Express Co. (Dunstable) Ltd. then applied for four additional vehicles for general goods, mainly smalls, normally within 50 miles and between the cornpa n y 's depots.
There were no objections and after hearing of a 60 per cent increase in turnover the Authority granted the application.