Terry Shaw is closed down
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• A northern coach operator has been put out of business until it can prove itself capable of maintaining its vehicles properly and of producing audited accounts.
Drapeweb of Barnsley, Yorkshire, trading as Terry Shaw Coaches, was banned from operating by North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Frederick Whalley last week.
Vehicle examiner Anthony Fielding said that when he examined five vehicles in November 1987, all but one showed signs of neglect and four had dangerous defects. A vehicle which had crossed the Pennines in snow and high winds was given an immediate prohibition on 6 January for an illegal tyre which was in an extremely dangerous condition. The company had been warned before that there was something wrong with the vehicle's tracking.
A part-time, self-employed fitter who did much of Shaw's maintenance told the examiner that he was reluctant to work for the company because invoices since August had not been paid. The company's inspection records showed that defects had been ignored.
Terry Shaw said that he had now dispensed with the contract fitter and taken on a fulltime fitter. He was hoping to move to new premises and the vehicles were being inspected every four weeks — but Whalley disputed this, saying that a vehicle had failed its annual test in February for serious brake defects, implying that either the new fitter was incompetent or that the promised maintenance arrangements were not in force. Whalley was also unable to determine whether a shortage of money had anything to do with the condition of the vehicles.
Terminating the licence with immediate effect, Whalley said that it was one of the worst cases of a failure to maintain public service vehicles that he had come across, and that the company posed a significant risk to public safety.