PI adjourned after haulier ‘cherry picked’ records
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DTC reschedules PI after saying haulier had ‘cherry picked’ records brought into the inquiry
roger.brown@rbi.co.uk EASTERN DEPUTY Trafic Commissioner (DTC) Miles Dorrington has adjourned a public inquiry (PI) into maintenance matters regarding Essex haulier Deon Freight, saying the irm had “cherry picked” its records to “paint itself in the best possible light” .
At the PI in Cambridge last week, the DTC put the Purleet irm’s hearing back to an unconirmed date in February, after it failed to provide driver defect reports. The irm also only brought preventative maintenance inspection (PMI) sheets for two new DAF trucks bought in November and eight other photocopied sheets from the period covering June to December last year.
This was despite the PI call-up letter sent to the irm in December requesting full and original PMI sheets as well as the driver defect reporting records for the six months from June 2010.
The DTC said that if Deon Freight – authorised for two vehicles – failed to provide VOSA with the records requested for the June to December period within one week, the agency could seize them, and that “adverse inferences” could be drawn.
He added: “In my view you’ve cherry picked the best reports and did not bring the documents requested.
“I have made no determination on your application and don’t want to reach any conclusions until I have seen the full picture for the past six months.” Scott Sumpton, transport manager at Deon Freight since May 2010, told the DTC: “It was not a case of cherry picking, but I have failed to do what was asked of me. There is nothing to hide here, we just failed to prepare for the PI correctly.” Paul Wiggins, VOSA vehicle examiner, told the inquiry how he had carried out a maintenance investigation into the company in February 2010 that had proved unsatisfactory.
Deon Freight had picked up a total of seven prohibitions, which included one vehicle with a leaking brake pipe.
Wiggins said: “Lots of these could have been avoided if drivers had carried out the proper walk round checks.” The DTC also adjourned the PI to consider an application for 22 vehicles from related company Riverside Freight Chilled, with Sumpton listed as its director, to the same unconirmed date in February.
Dorrington added: “It is fundamental to be able to examine the repute of the transport manager of Deon Freight before considering the Riverside application.”