Extra trucks prompt £500-plus fines
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• The use of more vehicles than authorised on its licence has cost Rugeley, Staffordshire-based Midland Transit and its managing director, Robert Singer, £570 in fines and costs.
Rugeley magistrates also fined the company £150 for failing to produce tachograph records and one of its drivers, Robert HoHeld, was fined £100 with £40 costs for excessive hours.
The company admitted four offences of using vehicles without an operator's licence (fined 2100 each) and three of failing to produce records (fined 250 each with 250 costs).
Singer admitted aiding and abetting the unauthorised use (fined £20 plus £40 costs) and HoHeld admitted four offences of exceeding nine hours' driving in a day (fined 225 each and £40 costs).
No evidence was offered against the company on seven charges of permitting drivers to exceed the hours limit and one charge of failing to issue sufficient tachograph charts to a driver.
Two alleged excessive hours offences against a second of the company's drivers, John MacKenzie, were adjourned.
Prosecuting for the West Midland Traffic Area, Patrick McKnight said that Midland Transit was the successor to Singer Transport which had ceased trading.
It inherited vehicles from Singer Transport and last September the company and Robert Singer were prosecuted for operating vehicles without an 0 licence.
Midland Transit had applied for a licence but had jumped the gun and had started using the vehicles.
Subsequently Midland Transit was granted an interim licence for four vehicles, but it had six vehicles in possession and on occasion five or six were operated.
The offences came to light when a vehicle was stopped in a check in East Sussex and drivers' records were requested. Some were missing.
When interviewed, Singer said he felt he was being persecuted by the authorities, but McKnight said Singer was prosecuted for aiding and abetting because he knew the company was only authorised to operate four vehicles and had deliberately sent additional vehicles out on the road, knowing they were not licensed.
Holifield exceeded nine hours' driving by amounts varying between 29 and 64 minutes.
Geoffrey Davies, defending, said Singer Transport was the joint lessee of premises of its principal customer which went into liquidation.
Singer was advised to liquidate Singer Transport because it would have become responsible for the whole lease and Midland Transit was formed in June 1984.