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148 
Coach man and driver are warned
Page 30
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A COACH operator who had signed a form to enable a driver to obtain a psv driving licence without checking the particulars, was brought before the Northern Traffic Commissioners at Newcastle upon Tyne last week for making a false statement.
Mr Martin David Brown, managing director of Sheerline Services Ltd, Woodlands Park, Wideopen, admitted doing so and employing the driver without pay.
The chairman, Mr B. J. Foster, said the Commissioners viewed with suspicion the fact that the driver had been used for 66 hours without payment. "The signing of the certificate could have been bait to employ cheap labour."
A senior traffic examiner, Mr C. S. Haswell, said he was asked to investigate a psv driving licence application by Joseph Edwin Wells, Ford Drive, Cowpen Estate, Blyth. Mr Wells had admitted doing part-time jobs for Sheerline, but said he had not been employed by the company since 1973. He had filled in the particulars on the form and Mr Brown signed it.
When interviewed, Mr Brown said he signed a blank form because he was busy at the time; he later said the particulars were filled in but he did not check them.
Of 14 trips done for Sheerline, Mr Wells said he was not paid but got the use of a car and garage facilities in lieu. He did this merely to keep his licence open.
In mitigation, it was submitted that if the form had been filled in correctly the licence would probably have been granted. Mr Brown had been negligent and foolish but would be in great financial difficulties if licences were revoked.
The Commissioners decided, in all the circumstances, that warnings should be given to both men, but any further complaints against them would have serious results.