Revocation after third i inquiryn four years
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Series of drivers’ hours and tachograph offences leads to fish haulier being disqualified from holding an O-licence.
A FISH HAULIER HAS had his licence revoked after appearing at his third public inquiry into drivers’ hours offences since 2005. John Pettigrew, trading as John Pettigrew Haulage, of Gartcosh, Lanarkshire, has also been disqualiied from holding an O-licence for four years.
Pettigrew, who held a licence for eight vehicles and four trailers, had been called before the Scottish Trafic Commissioner Joan Aitken to answer a number of drivers’ hours and tachograph offences.
He had appeared at two previous public inquiries, having been warned about drivers’ hours and tachograph offences in 2003, and having had his licence curtailed to three vehicles for four months in 2005 because of signiicant missing mileage, as well as drivers’ hours offences.
The TC was told that most of Pettigrew’s work involved delivering ish and other chilled foods for Norfolkline. An analysis of the tachograph records that were produced showed a considerable amount of unaccounted mileage for all eight vehicles. Missing mileage for six of the vehicles totalled 94,729km.
No documentation was produced in relation to two vehicles, which meant it was impossible to establish how many kilometres were unaccounted for.
Pettigrew said he had employed an administrator whose role was to collect the charts and give the drivers their daily trafic sheets. Pettigrew routed the vehicles while the administrator dealt with time off for drivers, PODs and invoices. If the administrator found anything wrong, she was to tell him and speak to the driver.
He disagreed that the missing mileage was to cover up hours offences.
For Pettigrew, Neil Kelly said that until the VOSA investigation, Pettigrew believed everything was in hand.
The TC said the problem with missing mileage was that she didn’t know if the work was being done lawfully or not. She did not know if there was ghost driving, tipping off the chart, failing to take breaks, not taking rest whether weekly, daily or fortnightly, or interference with the equipment.
What appeared to be double-shifting might be driving around the clock, and the missing mileage might serve to conceal the most dangerous driving behaviour of all.
Pettigrew also operated four vehicles under a Dutch licence as John Pettigrew Transport BV (Euresco BV) with a Dutch business address and the TC said that the Dutch authorities would be alerted to her decision.
CASE TWO
TC orders new VOSA maintenance probe
AN OPERATOR has succeeded in its bid to increase the authorisation on its licence from seven vehicles and ive trailers to 10 vehicles and ive trailers, subject to a maintenance investigation by VOSA.
West Midlands Trafic Commissioner Nick Jones shied away from revoking the licence of Wednesbury-based T&P Logistics because he believed VOSA had failed to gather its evidence properly, but said he would be asking VOSA to conduct a full investigation into maintenance and drivers’ hours within six to nine months.
If there are further problems, action will be taken, and if evidence shows the transport manager is not carrying out his role, the result would be revocation.
The company had previously appeared before the TC in 2007, when the licence was curtailed to seven vehicles and ive trailers because of drivers’ hours and tachograph offences. The then transport manager, director Terence Ward, was held to have lost his repute.
The TC was told ive prohibitions had been issued since the 2007 public inquiry.
The current transport manager, Graham Thomas, appeared to have little or no authority in making decisions over maintenance (CM 9 April). However, the TC said that since VOSA failed to make “a proper record” of its interview with Thomas, he was unable to revoke T&P’s licence.
“While I will not hesitate to take severe action where appropriate, I must always seek to be fair,” said Jones.
Trafic examiner Tracy Love expressed concern about the drivers’ hours recording system. Terence Ward was unhappy about Thomas said there had been a transitional period, but he now dealt with everything.
He agreed the points system needed changing, but denied he had been prevented from performing the functions of a transport manager.
Director Peter Ward said Thomas had turned the company round and there was now a different approach to compliance.
The TC concluded the standard of compliance within T&P Logistics was now relatively good and not one which would merit any adverse regulatory action.
LEGAL BRIEFS Formal warning issued
Billingham-based Mowcar Construction has been given a formal warning about its vehicle maintenance standards by North-Eastern Deputy Trafic Commissioner Mark Hinchliffe.
The company has a licence for 10 vehicles, and a maintenance investigation was carried out following an ‘S’-marked prohibition. Various inspection records were not fully completed; inspection intervals had been extended from six to 11 weeks on eight occasions; and there had been no transport manager since October. Since March 2006 two immediate prohibitions and a delayed prohibition had been issued.
The company gave a series of undertakings about maintenance arrangements and the appointment of a transport manager.
Driver fined £441
Gareth Belcher, a driver employed by County Tyrone-based Sawyers Transport, was ordered by Holyhead Magistrates to pay ines and costs totalling £441 after he admitted failing to use a driver card in a digital tachograph.
The offence came to light after the 40-tonne artic being driven by Belcher was stopped in a check at Dalar Hir, Anglesey, on 19 April. The driver was ined £235 and ordered to pay £191 prosecution costs as well as a £15 victim surcharge.
Revocation upheld
The revocation of the six-vehicle O-licence that was held by Scarborough-based Paul Castleton by North-Eastern Trafic Commissioner Tom Macartney on inancial grounds has been upheld by the Transport Tribunal on appeal.
In June 2008 a £642 cheque for the licence continuation was returned unpaid by the bank. Submitted bank statements were in the name of Castleton Commercials Ltd. Castleton was called before the TC on issues of inancial standing and a change of entity, but failed to attend.
In his appeal, Castleton said he didn’t attend due to an oversight after his mother was taken ill. He submitted letters from Hansen Aggregates saying £12,000 belonging to him was held by them in a reserve account. He had applied to surrender all but one of his vehicles, The Tribunal was unable to consider issues that had arisen since the inquiry. Castleton had failed to attend and send in inancial evidence.
Abnormally high missing mileage
The TC considered few operators were so out of control of their business that an investigation would reveal such a high level of missing mileage.