Warning as N-East haulier's international 0-lic is renewed
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by a special correspondent
AN iNTERN A Tit./ N A 1. haulier's operator's licence was renewed for five years last week, despite 36 overloading convictions in the past five years.
But North Eastern Deputy Licensing Authority Norman Moody warned the company, George Allinson Transport of Darlington, that it could be called to disciplinary proceedings if any more offences come to light.
A vehicle examiner told Moody he imposed three prohibition notices during a fleet inspection in March hut in view of the size of the fleet — 70 vehicles and 180 trailers — he considered that the standard of maintenance was satisfactory.
For the company, Roger Hird had submitted a list of traffic convictions to the Traffic Area, but left sonic out in error. Two further prosecutions are pending.
Managing director George Allinson said the previous licence had authorised 101 vehicles and 201 trailers, but the company operates 49 vehicles and 150 trailers from Darlington and 16 vehicles and 25 trailers from Rotherham. In future it intends to restrict Rotherham to a warehousing operation and make Darlington the transport base and operating centre.
Over half of the overloading convictions related to axle weights and weight distribution offences, mainly involving the movement of imported containers which arrived sealed, leaving the drivers unable to check their weight or how they were loaded.
That traffic had declined from 80 per cent to 50 per cent of Allinson's activity.
The weight distribution problems were being overcome by a conversion to 38-tonne tractive units.
The company was also experimenting with a computerised system for weight distribution on one vehicle.
The company policy was to pay the drivers' fines, hut drivers had been warned that they would not be paid in cases where drivers had been negligent.