Company failed to report
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/ Failing to report convictions to a Licensing Authority could justify the revocation of an Operator's Licence, says North Eastern LA Frederick Whalley. But he has granted G Butterfield (Transport) a national licence for six vehicles and two trailers based at the Canton Industrial Estate, Barnsley.
For the company, Gary Hodgson told the LA that undeclared convictions on the application form related to three axle overloading offences, a defective tyre and failing to display a vehicle excise licence.
Director Trevor Graney said the company had taken steps to rectify the overloading problem. RHA stickers had been put in the cabs to remind drivers of their obligations. The vehicles were all bulk tippers, and for 99% of the time they worked out of customers' sites where they were weighed. Occasionally they were used for site clearance work and that was when the overloading occurred.
He had not included those convictions on the application form as he had thought that they were out of time.
The defective tyre was on a vehicle working on site clearance. There was one cut but the court had accepted that the driver concerned had checked the tyre that day and had granted him an absolute discharge. The' windscreen of the vehicle had been replaced and the tax disc had fallen off: it was later found in the vehicle when it was returned to the operating centre. Graney said he had no excuse for not including those convictions on the application form.
Whalley said that it was the company's responsibility to make sure that its vehicles were not overloaded; it should take positive steps to have vehicles check-weighed.
Butterfields had relied on its customers to weigh its vehicles when it was the job of the company's management.
Graney promised to check three or four vehicles a week in the future and Whalley said that he would take that as a statement of intent.
The LA pointed out that there was a standard condition attached to the licence that convictions had to be reported to the LA within 21 days.