Replacement is refused
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A company whose licence terminated because it did not pay the renewal fee in time has lost its bid for a replacement.
Widnes-based Benny Lynch Transport had requested a national licence for 10 vehicles and 20 trailers; it was operating under interim authority.
Vehicle examiner David Collings told a Leeds public inquiry the company had been given a warning about its maintenance standards at a previous public inquiry in January 1998. He checked two vehicles and four trailers in October, issuing three delayed prohibitions.
The vehicles were scheduled for inspections on a five-week
cycle and trailers every 10 weeks. But there were 22 weeks between inspections of one trailer and up to 17 weeks between vehicle inspections. One skilled fitter was employed to inspect and maintain all the vehicles and trailers. He had no designated assistant and often had to rely on drivers as and when they were available.
Over the past five years 42 prohibition notices had been issued to the company's vehicles and trailers, including five since the grant of interim authority, said Ceilings: 12 of the prohibitions had been issued since the last public inquiry.
Also, in December 1998 the company had been convicted of using a vehicle when the speed limiter was not maintained in good working order; it was fined £1,500. Five of the prohibition notices listed speed limiter defects; the most recent being in April when a vehicle's speed limiter was found to be disconnected.
Traffic examiner Sarah Bell said the company and its drivers had been convicted of a number of hours and tachograph offences, including the falsification of tacho records.
Holding that the company did not meet the requirement to be of good repute, and withdrawing the interim authority, North Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Brian Homer said he had no option but to refuse the application.