• Clerks Told Not To Show Records

6th May 1960, Page 68

6th May 1960

Page 68

Page 68, 6th May 1960 — • Clerks Told Not To Show Records

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rAN a haulier be prosecuted for failN–• ing to produce records to an official by instructing his clerks not to produce them unless he is present?

Spennymoor magistrates decided, last week, that he could and Dent's Transport (Spennymoor), Ltd., were fined £5 on each of two such charges. They were also ordered to pay £7 7s. costs.

Mr. T. H. Campbell Wardlaw told the Magistrates that the examiner visited the company's registered office in the secretary's absence and was told by a girl clerk that she had instructions not to produce records except in Mr. Dent's presence.

After paying three visits without seeing Mr. Dent, or making an appointment, summonses were issued which were bad in law and did not state where the alleged offence was committed. These were dismissed by Bishop Auckland magistrates .(The Commercial Motor, April 1) but had been reissued with better particulars.

A submission that Mr. Dent had committed no offence was rejected by the magistrates, who are to be asked to state a case for appeal.

TRANSFER TO RAIL NO SOLUTION OF TRANSPORT PROBLEM

" WE are sick of hearing politicians

argue • that a transfer of heavy goods traffic from road to rail would solve all the present-day transport problems." said Mr. R. N. Ingram, national chairman of the Road Haulage Association, at the annual dinner of the Northern Area at Newcastle upon Tyne last week.

To use the same argument to explain away the mounting toll of -road accidents, particularly over the Easter holi: day, was disgusting, he added. Promoters of this argument had not stopped to conSider how much heavY transport was on the roads at Easter.

Taking heavy goods traffic off the roads would -make practically no difference to the accident problem, said Mr. Ingram. In 1958, nearly 375,000 vehicles were involved in accidents, and of these only 13,000 were goods vehicles with unladen weights exceeding 3 tons.

It seemed odd that so much criticism should be directed against such a small minority, he commented.