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Licence refused

28th April 1994, Page 16
28th April 1994
Page 16
Page 16, 28th April 1994 — Licence refused
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Keywords : Trailer

• A Bradford operator who had his 0-licence renewal refused last October on maintenance grounds was disqualified from holding a licence for a year when he sought a fresh licence.

Robert Rawlings, trading as Precision Removals, was seeking a new licence for two vehicles and two trailers at a Leeds public inquiry Admitting that he had operated the vehicles without authority, Rawlings said he tried hiring vehicles but could not because of cashflow problems.

Vehicle examiner Alexander Fiddes said he examined the vehicles and trailers in January, issuing one immediate prohibition and two defect notices. The vehicles had been extensively prepared for his inspection.

An invoice showed that it took maintenance contractors 38 hours to prepare a vehicle and trailer for his inspection, which meant that it must have been in a seriously defective condition. The operating centre was a quagmire without any covered accommodation, said Fiddes. The inspection records did not match the condition of the vehicles and trailers. There was no pre-planned maintenance programme and he was told drivers reported defects verbally—there had been no improvement since October.

Conceding that the immediate prohibition imposed on a trailer in January had not been cleared, Rawlings said that the defects had been repaired. He had not been aware of the prohibition as the driver had not given it to him.

Fiddes said that the chassis had been badly cracked and that the cracks had been there for a considerable time.

After hearing financial evidence in private, North Eastern Deputy LA Brian Homer said the business was working just within its overdraft facility and he was not totally satisfied there was sufficient working capital to run it. Convictions for using a vehicle without a vehicle excise licence in February and September 1993 showed irresponsibility.

Homer said that 13 immediate prohibitions had been imposed on Rawlings' fleet since 1990. He was refusing the application because he could not be satisfied about vehicle maintenance and because of the flagrant disregard for the law shown by Rawlings in operating without a licence.


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