Vehicles parked in the road
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Breaches of environmental conditions caused EA Scaffolding & Systems (Luton) to be called before Eastern Traffic Commissioner Geoffrey Simms at a Cambridge disciplinary inquiry.
The TC has reserved his decision about what action to take against the company, which holds a licence for six vehicles.
Traffic exam
iner James Killinbeck said there were conditions on the licence limiting the number of vehicles to be kept at the company's Seymour Road, Luton operating centre to two 7.5-tonne vehicles and one 17-tonner, and restricting movement to between 07:00 18:00hrs from Monday to Friday and 0710012:00hrs on Saturdays. In addition, the company had given an undertaking that authorised vehicles would not park, load or unload on the public road.
When he visited the company in July, Killinbeck saw small vans and one of the specified vehicles parked in Seymour Road; tachograph charts showed there had beer movement as
early as 06:00hrs. All four of the company's vehicles had been kept on site on occasions. He was told the company was seeking a new operating centre and he advised it to comply with the conditions in the meantime.
"I visited the company again on 4 October," said Killinbeck. "l examined the tachograph charts for the four specified vehicles. Transport manager Charles Wright agreed that all four vehicles were being kept on site in breach of the conditions. The tachograph charts showed that vehicles left earlier than 07:00hrs and returned after 18:00hrs."
Similar evidence was given by neighbours, backed up by photographic and video evidence.
For the company, Michael Gotelee said it had entered a conditional contract for the acquisition of new premises which were more than adequate for six vehicles.
Denying that four vehicles were ever kept at Seymour Road, managing director Robert Vernon said they visited the site to load and unload. The other vehicle was kept at a second operating centre authorised on the licence. People had been disciplined and dismissed for blatantly disregarding instructions to comply with the conditions. Some of the tachograph charts which were said to show breaches were from vehicles operating from the other operating centre. The company had now employed a transport manager to ensure greater control, Maintaining that only three vehicles had ever been parked at Seymour Road overnight, Wright said: "The drivers are not beyond control, but they don't always absorb what they are told," In reply to the TC, Wright said: "When I drove a vehicle myself I arrived back fate because it took longer than I anticipated."
But the TC concluded by asking him: "What hope have the drivers got if the manager breaches the conditions?"