Vehicle's maintenance hell
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• The two-anda-half-year satisfactory record of Newbridge-based Valley Building Supplies had been followed by "eight months from hell".
This was said by South Wales TC David Dixon as he cut the authorisation on the company's licence from three vehicles to two, and suspended the licence for a fortnight.
Vehicle examiner Douglas Goff said a vehicle involved in a road traffic accident had had only one preventative maintenance inspection in six months. It had 15 separate defects, nearly all concerned with the braking system. These included empty brake cylinders, contaminated brake shoes, exposed metal and an inoperative handbrake. The vehicle was in a very poor condition and had not been maintained to the minimum standard. "It was dangerous and in an unroadworthy condition," said Goff.
Director Alan Thomas had refused to visit the site of the inspection because of "pressure of work", Goff said. No inspections had been carried out between the beginning of December and the beginning of June. The vehicle was out of test, and the inspection records were written on scraps of paper.
For the company, Alan Cox said it had been let down by the commercial garage undertaking its maintenance, which should not have released the vehicle in such a condition. Ile accepted that the defects were of long standing.
Indicating that he would have been fully justified in revoking the licence, the TC said Thomas had treated safety as less important than business, and had given safe operation a low priority.
The TC said he required the vehicle to be checked daily and inspected and roller-brake-tested every three months. He also required a new maintenance contract to be in place by the start of November, and was to be notified of the result of the prosecution arising from the accident.