:ommon Practice to Remove Axles for Registration, Tribunal Told
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AXLES have been removed from hundreds of eight-wheelers by K. and B. Motors, Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne, in order to make the vehicles into six-wheelers for weighing and registration purposes The eaxles have
then been replaced after the grant of a licence. Mr. Edward Waters, K. and B.'s managing director, revealed this in London, on Tuesday, when the Transport Tribunal heard an appeal by Mr. George Allinson, Etherley Dene, Northumberland.
qr. Waters, a voluntary witness, said practice he had described was nmon among commercial-vehicle tiers and .was perfectly legal so long the vehicles were redeclared for taxan purposes when the axles were laced.
kfter being told that a ruling was ciously awaited, the Tribunal reserved ir decision on the appeal, which was tinst the revocation of Mr. Allinson's .cia1 A licence by the Northern LicensAuthority.
Vir. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw, for Allinson, said the appeal was made the grounds that the Authority bad power to revoke the licence, and that decision was harsh. In 1955, he said, . Allinson purchased a special-A tide of 5 tons 4 cwt. unladen from British Transport Commission, which operated until June, 1956. He then troaclied K. and B. for an eight eeler, and arranged to sell his original ;idle in part exchange. Licensing tters were left to K. and B.
)n July 9, 1956, a Guy Invincible was istered by Mr. Waters with an unladen ght of 5 tons 3 cwt. On July 11, . Allinson applied for a variation and took delivery two days later when the icle was an eight-wheeler. It appeared t between July 9 and 15 an additional : was added, and on July 25 Mr. inson redecIared the weight as 7 tons cwt.
Revocation Proceedings
n 1958, he read of revocation proceed; for increases in weight of special-A ides, so he took legal advice. As a ;at, on August 13, 1958, he applied for A licence for a vehicle of 3 tons cwt. unladen, in exchange for his :ial A licence.
Ir. Allinson made a full disclosure 3re the Road and Rail Negotiating nmittee, and a B.T.C. objection was adrawn. On September 20, the .them n Licensing Authority sent him n TV30, saying the application would granted and asking for the registrabook.
ater, however, he was notified that iuse of discrepancies in the weight, ublic inquiry would be held. After e hearings, the special A licence was tked, but an A licence for a vehicle 5 tons 3 cwt. unladen was granted. ; had not yet been taken up as it nt buying another lorry.
he appeal, added Mr. Wardlaw, was great importance to the transport istry because the manceuvre of easing the unladen weight of specialrehicles after registration had been adopted by many hauliers throughout Great Britain, so the Tribunal's decision was anxiously awaited.
Sir Hubert Hall, president, said the first issue was whether Mr. Waters was telling the truth when the application form was made out and, secondly, if that were so, was any later increase in weight immaterial? If Mr. Wardlaw's view of the law was right, the weight of ordinary A or B vehicles could be altered after a grant had been made.
Mr. Wardlaw said this was the view held by the Licensing Authorities themselves. He quoted from a letter written by the clerk to the Northern Authority, which said that A and B vehicles were specified only by their index numbers, and there was nothing in law which compelled notification of changes in weight during the currency of a licence.
Eight Same as Four?
Mr. N. L. C. Macaskie, Q.C.: " Would you regard an eight-wheeler as the same as a four-wheeler?"
Mr. Wardlaw: "Yes, if it is the same vehicle."
Mr. Waters said in evidence that Mr. Allinson approached him in 1956 for an eight-wheeler and, when it was found that he was licensed for a fourwheeler of 5 tons 4 cwt., he was told that it was not possible to produce one at that weight to carry 15 tons. A Guy eight-wheeler chassis-cab weighing 61 tons was delivered on June 6.
One of the two rear axles was removed, reducing it to approximately 5 tons, and a body was fitted making it operable as a six-wheeler. It was then weighed and the application form made out. The axle was replaced between July 11 and 13. Hundreds of axles had been removed and replaced in that way.
Mr. E. Robey, for K. and B., said Mr. Waters had appeared quite voluntarily to help the Tribunal in view of the fact that the Licensing Authority was proposing to take away Mr. Allinson's livelihood. The Authority would have been greatly helped if K. and B. Motors had been asked to give evidence at the final hearing, but they were not.
Mr. Wardlaw submitted that when the application form for the vehicle was made out it showed the correct weight at that time. The fact that it was intended to alter the weight immediately did not constitute a false statement.
He would, however, draw a distinction between unladen weight and type of vehicle. A change of type might imply a change of intention. As the law stood. changes in weight could be reviewed only at the re-grant of the licence.