Merchandise Discharged on Records Summons
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APPEARING at Tottenham Magistrates' Court last week for a transport firm summonsed for failing to cause a current work record to be kept by one of their drivers, Mr. E. R. Waite, solicitor, said "One day somebody is going to have the courage to take one of these cases to a higher court. As it is, it is assumed that a company must plead guilty to an offence which it did not commit."
Mr. Waite entered a plea of not guilty to two summonses against Merchandise Transport, Ltd., of Ferry Lane, Tottenham, in respect of Vincent Coffey, a driver employed by them.
Coffey, of Black Prince Road, Kennington, pleaded guilty to two summonses for failing to keep current records on July 14 and 15 this year. He also pleaded guilty to a summons for driving for continuous periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 11 hours on July 14 but not guilty to a summons for driving for a continuous period of more than five and a half hours on the same date.
Driver's Admission When Coffey was seen by a traffic examiner he agreed that his records were inaccurate and explained that he was held up on the road when he went to the assistance of another of the company's drivers who was having mechanical trouble at Carlisle,
Mr. Ernest William Handley, traffic examiner for the Metropolitan area, told the court that Mr, Percival William Edwards, assistant traffic manager of the company, made a statement in which he said drivers were paid £1 subsistence for every night which their records showed they were away from home.
"If a driver books a night out of town but comes home, thereby driving excess hours, it is the driver who benefits—not the company, who are out of pocket and know nothing about it," added the statement.
Mr. Frederick Ernest Forrest, a director and traffic manager of the company, which he said was a subsidiary of Harris Lebus, Ltd., Tottenham, said copies of regulations governing the keeping of records were posted up in the cabin of every vehicle in the company's fleet and were in the folder issued with consignment instructions to drivers.
Disciplinary action was taken against drivers failing to keep proper records and in many cases the penalty was immediate discharge.
Mr. Waite said the company had done everything in its power to see that drivers carried out the instructions given to them.
The bench found summonses against the company proved and gave them an absolute discharge on payment of ten guineas costs.
The chairman, Mr. F. A. Grant, said there was an element of doubt in the summons against Coffey for driving for more than five and a half hours and it would be dismissed. Coffey was fined 40s. on each of the three summonses to which he pleaded guilty and ordered to pay five guineas costs.
Probe Into Glasgow Transport Urged
rAA NOTICE of motion was given to Glasgow Corporation last week by Councillor Mrs. Jean Roberts asking the corporation at their first meeting in 1962 to appoint a special committee to investigate and report on measures which can be taken:—
(1) To ensure the maximum use of all forms of public transport using routes within the city.
(2) To provide such facilities as might be possible to assist passengers between main line railway stations and underground stations.
(3) To consider what additional provision is necessary for public transport services within the city.