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Aurfitt's licence cut or trailer overloads
Page 9
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AJOR East Anglian haulier was told that he "placed too responsibility on drivers for matters over which they had mtrol."
is criticism was made by rn traffic area Licensing lority Kenneth Peter to ael Murfitt of M. J. MurLittleport, Cambs, at a ic inquiry last week in bridge.
e inquiry was held be the company had accuted 33 GV9 prohibitions i7 convictions against the )any's drivers in the last tears.
Murfitt told the court his fleet of 71 vehicles (he has 51 trailers) was ly engaged working for )Ik Line, picking up Contal trailers at Yarmouth, ering the goods throughthe UK and picking up -n loads for export via ferring to the many overng convictions against trid his drivers, Mr Murfitt mted much of the blame forfolk Line for overng the trailers abroad, cularly at the front end. had led to the second axle is tractive units being overloaded, although the gross train weight was legal.
Mr Murfitt said his drivers had instructions and reminders in their pay packets not to take overloaded or unsafe trailers. But LA Kenneth Peter said such reminders could not transfer responsibility to drivers — they should have training on how to check for overloading and safety of trailers, and this had not been given.
Mrs Janet Murfitt, the haulier's wife, said that she supervised the drivers' records and could offer no explanation for the many convictions for failure to make records or for incomplete or false entries. Regular spot checks that she had made had not revealed such errors, she said.
Turning to the 33 GV9s accumulated by the company's vehicles in the past five years, area mechanical engineer Anthony Wilson said maintenance facilities at the Littleport depot were good, but the eight fitters and two lads employed by Mr Murfitt could only "just about cope". The LA went into the qualifications and the experience of these fitters and the man who was to be appointed vehicle inspection engineer, Maurice Bell. A Road Transport Industrial Training Board course was recommended to Mr Bell by the LA.
Representing Mr Murfitt, S. J. Green pointed out that only three of the GV 9s in 1978 were immediate, but the LA said that delayed GV9s were no less serious.
In his conclusion, Mr Peter said there was "no doubt that Mr Murfitt had built up a large and successful business from very small beginnings, but the necessity to fulfil legal requirements had not kept pace with the fleet growth."
Mr Murfitt outlined plans for reducing his reliance on Norfolk Line's business by developing other contracts, and this, he said, should largely overcome the overloading problems.
He had also appointed Mr Bell as the vehicle inspection engineer and planned to hire two new fitters.
In view of these improvements, LA Kenneth Peter decided just to curtail Murfitt's 0-licence by four vehicles G(from 75 to 71 vehicles, restricting any immediate expansion) and to bring its expiry date forward from December 31, 1981 to March 31, 1980.