Father must stay out of business
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Mark Jones, the sole director of Wrexhambased European Express 2000 has been warned that he risks losing his Operator's Licence if his father, who had his own 0-licence revoked, has anything to do with running the business.
In June 2000 his father Peter Jones, the company's transport manager, had his 0-licence revoked by Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon for problems including three prohibition notices issued for defective brakes and two for detective speed limiters. In January 2000 Peter Jones was convicted at Folkestone for not having a twice-yearly tachograph calibration check, using more vehicles than were authorised on the licence and for using a vehicle without an excise licence.
The international haulier was called before Dixon again at a public inquiry in Flint last week.
Tim Culpin, appearing for the company and Peter Jones, said the father accepted things had gone wrong. lie had been distracted by a traumatic divorce and had ceased operating vehicles in September 2000.
He had sustained a serious injury and had no intention of returning to work, except perhaps as a driver.
Asked why the licence document, the licence identity discs and the community authorisations had not been returned fol lowing the revocation of his licence, Peter Jones said they had been destroyed by his estranged wife.
Vehicle examiner John Brown said that since the company's latest licence was granted in December last year one immediate and two delayed prohibitions had been issued to its vehicles and trailers.
Taking no action against the company apart from a formal warning, the IC said that Mark Jones, Peter's son, came across as not having a great idea about how to run a fleet of vehicles and he had wondered whether the company was a "front" for Jones' father.