GV9 for council after driver's complaint
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• Midlothian county council, which operates a fleet of 76 vehicles on roads and cleansing work, appeared before Mr A. B. Birnie, the Scottish LA, to show cause in Edinburgh this week following a complaint by a council driver regarding the condition of a gulley cleaner. This complaint had resulted in an immediate GV9 being placed on the vehicle, which had eight defects including defective braking.
On March 7 a routine inspection was carried out at Bonnyrig depot when 10 vehicles were seen by Mr B. Yorke, a vehicle examiner. He imposed one delayed and three immediate prohibitions. Records were satisfactory if carried out but it was his impression that there was a lack of communication and a lack of real authority in dealing with maintenance and inspection. He also spoke of earlier prohibitions, not made by himself.
Mr Birnie said that the complaining driver in this instance could well have done a public service, both to the community and to the county council. He had been "shattered" to find the county council before him in this way and thought that the publicity attending another local authority case in Scotland some four years ago would have discouraged any further instances of this type. He heard evidence from the local authority officials covering the paper work, the organization and the routines; the prohibitions were not disputed.
Mr Birnie said that it was clear on the evidence that what was found by the vehicle examiner was a matter for concern. It was clear that some defects had been missed and blatantly clear that vehicles were in a dangerous condition. He curtailed the licence by three vehicles for four months.