Jackson awards full licence for Rowe
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• Lichfield haulage company Rowe Freight, called to public inquiry on the renewal of its international licence because of drivers' hours and tachograph convictions, has succeeded in pursuading West Midland Licensing Authority Ronald Jackson to grant the company a full licence.
In November Rowe was fined £2,600 by Lichfield Magistrates after admitting 22 offences (CM, November 15).
For the company, Jonathan Smith said it had taken the matter to heart and engaged the services of an outside agency to analyse its tachograph charts. It had looked at the possibility of having their own analyser, but the cost of 4;8,000 to £10,000 was not justified when the agency charged 25p per chart and produced a printout within 24 hours.
Director Ronald Rowe said drivers were notified of any infringements which were discussed with them. If the transgression was serious the driver was given a warning letter which he had to sign before receiving his wages. It was too early to say whether the company had plugged the gap, but he could not see what more they could do.
After Rowe conceded the printout did not show the maximum speed of the vehicle, only the average speed. Jackson said a driver who spent a long time in a motorway cafe and then made up time by driving at excessive speed could achieve a reasonable average speed. It would be in the company's own interests to ask the agency to include maximum speeds in the analysis.
In granting the company an international licence for 18 vehicles and 10 trailers for the full five years. Jackson warned that if further offences were detected by traffic examiners, the company could not blame the agency — it was still Rowe Freight's responsibility.