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P CASE TWO
Page 23
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Licence reduction for skip hire company
A SKIP HIRE firm with vehicles in a "shocking condition" has been given time to seek advice after an inquiry was adjourned for two weeks. It has also been told it must run no more than two vehicles in that period.
Herbert Singleton Dransfield & Partners, trading as H Dransfield & Sons and based in Preston, holds a three-vehicle licence. At the inquiry, the firm faced the North-Western Traffic Commissioner, Beverley Bell.
Due to a change in partners, the TC advised that the company should take advice about sorting out the partnership and what it must do to comply with the rules. Vehicle examiner Neil Green said he carried out a maintenance investigation following the issue of an S'-marked prohibition.
He examined two vehicles, issuing one with an immediate prohibition for a defective loadsensing valve and the other with an 'S'-marked immediate prohibition for loose wheelnuts and a missing stud. There were also gaps in the inspection periods of 12,18 and more than 31 weeks. There was only one driver defect report for the two vehicles in operation. And the initial failure rate at annual test was 63.64%.
Asked why the vehicles had been in such awful condition, partner Harold Dransfield said the load-sensing valve had been replaced by a contractor on 15 December after the issue of an 'S'marked immediate prohibition, and should have been working.
Dransfield accepted the loose wheelnuts and missing stud should have been picked up. He said it had been left to the driver to check. He had no excuse for the extended inspection periods. The transport manager, Marie Dransfield, said the firm had put in place all the vehicle examiner's recommendations.
An oversight meant the TC had not been told partner Herbert Dransfield had died and that Christopher Dransfield was no longer a partner.
Adjourning the inquiry, the TC said she required all the partners to attend on the next occasion.
Time to get its house in order
The business was given some extra time by the TC in order to resolve the legal issues surrounding a change in partners.