Suspension for Lack of maintenance standards
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By Roger Brown
THE PROBLEM with poor truck maintenance standards has been highlighted in the case of an operator who had no repair contract in place for his vehicle and was unable to produce records of safety inspections.
Following a public inquiry in Warrington, North West deputy traffic commissioner (TC) Simon Evans suspended the O-licence of Barrow-in-Furness company Joss Engineering for 28 days until 9 November.
At Commercial Motor Live earlier this month, senior traffic commissioner Beverley Bell outlined the issue of poor maintenance standards and said the time was right for the industry to introduce an accreditation system for truck repair specialists.
At its annual test in February, Joss Engineering’s vehicle was found to have a brake defect described as “safety critical” . In May, a Vosa vehicle examiner conducted an inspection of the company’s maintenance records, but discovered no evidence of planned safety inspections for the future.
At the inquiry, company director Russell Richards told Evans that steps had been taken to put maintenance procedures in place. The deputy TC said he was not satisfied the improvements had gone far enough, and noted that the defect reports did not contain evidence that defects had been repaired.
The deputy TC said: “I would not be fulfilling my public duty if I were to allow this operator to use an LGV without a clear re-commitment to compliance.” The firm made a commitment to the deputy TC to provide evidence of its financial standing and maintenance inspections.
Richards or commercial manager Peter Hutchings must also attend a Vosa operator seminar.