Hired vehicle operator's responsibility
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• The person who hires a self-drive vehicle is responsible for its condition. This fact was stated by Mr H. R. Aylmer, the Scottish deputy LA, at Kirkcaldy on Tuesday, when Agriform Fertilizers Ltd of Perth appeared before him under Section 69.
The hearing followed a case at Perth Sheriff Court on June 26 when the company was convicted on a charge of using a vehicle with defective brakes. Mr John Buchan, for the company, said that the vehicle belonged to Frews of Perth and was on hire to Agriform for a four-week period while one of its own two vehicles was being overhauled. Mr Buchan said that the vehicle had proved to be "to say the least not terribly satisfactory". He pointed out that Frews had reduced the account to Agriform by half and then given a further reduction to compensate for inconvenience caused to Agriform.
The deputy LA took the view that although the person hiring the vehicle was responsible for its condition, Agriform had apparently not had full co-operation in this case. In the circumstances he took no action.