Contract Operator Wins in High Court A N operator who hires
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a coach to a private party cannot be held liable if, without his knowledge, the organizer advertises the occasion. This is the effect of a decision given by the King's Bench Divisional Court, last Friday.
The Court dismissed with costs an appeal from a decision of the Stone (Staffs) magistrates, dismissing a summons against G. H. Austin and Sons, Ltd., Woodseaves, Stafford, for using a coach, it was alleged, otherwise than in accordance with the terms of a road service licence.
Last May, Stone Women's Guild arranged a coach trip to Skegness, and because there were some unbooked seats, the committee advertised the outing in a shop window. The West Midland Licensing Authority contended that the trip had been advertised and that the Austin company was liable.
The Lord Chief Justice (Lord Goddard) said that the magistrates' had absolved the Austin concern from any knowledge that the trip for which it had supplied a coach had been advertised, and that the company had no reasonable way of knowing that any advertisement had appeared. In Lord Goddard's view, to make the respondent guilty of an offence, the breach must have been committed by it or to its knowledge. Knowledge was a necessary ingredient.
Mr. Justice Humphreys and Mr. Justice Devlin concurred with Lord Goddard's view that the appeal should be dismissed.
R.H.E. ACTION ON RATES DECRIED
THE Association of British Chambers 1 of Commerce has passed and sent to the Road 'Haulage Executive and the Central Transport Consultative Committee, a resolution deprecating the arbitrary manner in which the Executive announced its most recent increase of 10 per cent in haulage rates. It asks for an assurance that consultation between transport undertakings and traders will not be abandoned.
MORE ONE-MAN WORKING?
THE Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association is trying to have changes made in the regulations so that singledeck buses with more than 26 seats may be worked by one man. Licensing Authorities may at present permit an operator to dispense with conductors on vehicles seating fewer than 26 passengers, provided that the maximum adult fare is 6d. and that the conditions of operation justify the change.
60,743 MORE C-LICENCE VEHICLES
BRITAIN'S C-licence fleet last year increased by 60,743 vehicles. At the end of December there were 733,044 C-licence vehicles in the hands of 378,664 operators. Altogether 402,077 vehicles were light models weighing not more than 14 tons unladen. Another 88,651 did not exceed 2 tons and 117,413, 21 tons. Vehicles in the 21-3-ton fange numbered 81,504.