h•ohibitions in the up of the gods?
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HICLE prohibitions in dside checks are often a tter of being in the wrong :te at the wrong time. So imed a Stoke-on-Trent her when he appeared bet the West Midlands Liceng Authority last week.
.A Arthur Crabtree took no ion against Spencer and m (Haulier) Ltd other than ording a warning.
1r R. Spencer, the compamanaging director, said t many operators had never n stopped in a check, but LA replied that although was aware that prohibitions were sometimes a matter of luck, a vehicle served with such must be unroadworthy.
Vehicle examiner Ronald Barton said he had carried out an inspection following the imposition of a prohibition in a roadside check. He was told that the faults had arisen since a maintenance inspection, but could not believe this.
He felt that vehicles should be inspected more frequently than once a month, and said that the workshop staff seemed under pressure to inspect and repair vehicles quickly. He inspected five vehicles and imposed one immediate prohibition and three defect notices.
Mr Spencer stated that of the 17 vehicles operated by his company and its associate, Prothill Transport Ltd, three were constantly off the road for maintenance and repair. The vehicles worked over rough terrain and the period between inspections had now been reduced to three weeks.
According to Mr Spencer, the vehicle given the prohibition at the roadside should never have been on the road. He was on holiday at the time and the driver was suspended for failing to report the defects. The vehicle given the prohibition during the fleet check had only just passed its annual test.
Defects cropped up frequently with tipping and that was why five fitters were employed. During the last twelve months some 00,411 had been spent on spares.
On deciding to take no action other than to record a warning, Mr Crabtree said that the company had a good reputation generally.