Hgv 1 bid after crash
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A HEAVY goods vehicle driver who made a special journey from Holland to appear at a public inquiry before the Yorkshire Licensing Authority was successful in his application to renew his Class I hgv driving licence at Leeds on January 24, Keith Compton, of Goole, Humberside, had held a Class I licence since February 1970. In July 1974 he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and was disqualified for one year. The LA, Maj-Gen V. H. J. Carpenter, was considering whether Mr Compton was a fit person to continue to hold an hgv licence.
Mr Compton said he drove a left-hand drive vehicle which was engaged on continental haulage. He worked for a Dutch company and only spent short periods of time in this country.
The accident occurred on a very bad stretch of the A2 trunk road and he did not believe he was in any way at fault. He had pleaded not guilty and there had been considerable dispute about the circumstances.
This had been his first accident in 14 years of driving, and he had already suffered as a consequence being out of work for a period of nine months.
Granting renewal, Maj-Gen Carpenter said Mr Compton would probably always remember the accident and it would be a spur towards taking even greater care in the future.
He took the view that unfortunate though it had been, the accident was insufficient in itself to justify taking away Compton's livelihood when judged against his overall record.