Brake to fight LA's decision
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by Kevin Wright • Brake, the road haulage safety research group, is going to court in a bid to put a Derbyshire operator off the road.
Brake's director, Mary Williams, is the daughter of 52-year-old schoolteacher Susan Williams, who was killed by a truck with defective brakes in May 1992. Now Brake is mounting a High Court challenge to the North Western LA's refusal to withdraw the license of Herbert Pheasey, who operated that vehicle.
But the pressure group's bid for a judicial review stalled when the LA argued that, as an "unincorporated association" with no legal identity, Brake had no right to bring its case before the court_ Mr Justice Turner reserved his judgement on the bid to have the pressure group's case struck out.
In September 1994 driver Robert Marsden was convicted of causing Mrs Williams' death by reckless driving. Pheasey was fined £2,350 for offences including allowing a vehicle to be operated with defective brakes, defective steering and in a dangerous condition, and fraudulent use of a vehicle excise license.
North Western LA Martin Albu found that Mrs Williams' death was due to the haulier's failure to keep the vehicle fit and serviceable, but he did not revoke Pheasey's licence. Instead he reduced its length to 30 September this year.