Wrong Base Given in Special A Application : Haulier Fined
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AAT the magistrates' court in Eye, Suffolk, last Friday, Mrs. M. Lovell, of Cranley Hill, Eye, was fined £7, with El costs, when she pleaded guilty to making a false statement on an application for a special A licence. It was suggested that the Licensing Authority was discriminating against her.
Mrs. Lovell had been a successful tenderer for a transport unit of one vehicle, based in Great Yarmouth. In her application for the licence she had given an address in Ipswich as that of the base from which she wished to operate the vehicle. The licence was granted.
Solicitors' Address That address, said the prosecution, was that of a firm of solicitors and the vehicle never had been operated from there. In fact, it was often kept at the home of the driver and was frequently used at Soham, near Ely. It was not and had not been based in Ipswich.
. Mr. 0. W. Irwin, Eastern Area secretary of the Road Haulage Association, the only witness, said he remembered a discussion with Mrs. Lovell before she made the application. Mrs. Lovell, who was director of another small haulage undertaking in Thorpe Abbotts, DISS, wished to dispose of her local interests and return to Ipswich, from which she originally came, and intended to set up a new haulage business in 'Ipswich with the special A vehicle.
It was necessary under the Transport Act, 1953, that the application be made before taking delivery of the vehicle. As she had at that time no premises or base in Ipswich, and as it was necessary to indicate in the application the base from which the vehicle would be used, it had been felt that an " accommodation address" would be sufficient indication to the Licensing Authority that it was intended to operate from
tpswich. _ .
Lorries Kept at Home 'Mr: Irwin said that it was a common practice in country .districts4or.drivers to take their vehicles home, park them for the night and start out ontheir next _day's work straight from home; There ,were no restrictions on the operation of special A--vehiclesand they could be and were used for traffic originating far from their home. base. Mrs. Lovell's vehicles _lifted . a large amountof traffic in Ipswich.
In cross-examination, he referred to a general practice followed'bY aealers who bought units for the purpose of breaking them up and selling separate vehicles, of giving the address of their own premises in their original application, as that from which the vehicles would be used.
They knew that the lorries would never be used from their own base and to that extent the statement was a A32
false one deliberately made. The Licensing Authority, however, apparently accepted the position. At the time of making their applications, dealers could not know to whom they would be selling vehicles and could not give any indication of where each vehicle would be ultimately based.
Asked whether there was any suggestion that the Licensing Authority was showing discrimination by prosecuting Mrs. Lovell while taking no action against dealers, Mr. Irwin said that it was difficult to come to any other conclusion. In the case of Mrs. Lovell, she had clearly indicated that she wished to operate the vehicle in Ipswich and that remained her intention as soon as she could obtain premises of her own.
INTEGRATED SERVICE FOR BRIGHTON?
'DIE views of the local councils of L Hove, Portslade, Southwick, and Shoreham upon the feasibility of an integrated road passenger transport system in the district have been asked for by Brighton Corporation. Opinions from Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., and the Brighton, Hove and District Omnibus Co., Ltd., are also sought.
The Ministry of Transport has stated that it cannot speculate on any scheme until specific proposals are put to it.
3,560 Lo.T. PAPERS WORKED
ATOTAL of 3,560 papers in the 1955 examinations for associate and graduateship membership of the Institute of Transport was worked by 1.249 candidates. Honours have been awarded to the following: Mr. H. A. Nettleship and Mr. G. F. Turner, both of Nottingham (associate membership examination, parts one and two); and Mr. J. A. Chadwell, Mr. I. E. Colpus, Mr. R. J. E. Owen and Mr. A. F. Parr, all of London (graduateship examination, part two).
SPRATLEY APPEAL FAILS
THE Minister of Transport has
. rejected an appeal by E. J. Spratley, Ltd., against the refusal of the South Eastern Licensing Authority to grant the company picking-up points at Aldermaston and Tadley on 12 excursions and tours. The Authority had granted a licence for excursions and tours from Mortinier. Costs have been awarded against the company.
PYRENE TAKE OVER SUN
THEPyrene Co., Ltd., have acquired control of Sun Engineering (Richmond), Ltd., makers of fire crash tenders_ Mr. Fraocis Harrison, chairman and managing director of Pyrene, has become chairman also of the Sun company, which will continue to operate under its present managing director.