'Technical hitch' says haulier
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A CORNISH HAULIER had one specified vehicle and a margin of three vehicles suspended from his licence for one month following an inquiry in Plymouth last week.
• Mr John Ian Davis, of East Taphouse, had been called under Section 69 following the issuing of two immediate and four delayed prohibition notices during the past two years, and a recent conviction for four offences of the unauthorised use of a vehicle. A vehicle examiner told the inquiry that the general line of the faults indicated a lack of diligent inspections. Crossexamined by Mr Kenneth Scroggs, for the operator, he said the cause of two of the delayed notices could well have developed after the vehicle had left on its journey. The inspection sheets showed that the two artics were doing as much as 6,000 to 7,000 miles a month.
Giving evidence, Mr Davis said he had now come to the conclusion that it was impossible to rely on the larger garages for proper maintenance and he was now cultivating a smaller garage.
While admitting the unauthorized use of a vehicle Mr Davis said he was not, in fact, operating any more vehicles than his licence permitted; he had simply failed to notify the LA and it was, therefore, more of a technical hitch than an offence.