1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
Operators future hangs in balance after licence 'loan'
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A Renfrewshire ownerdriver who lent a spare Operator's Licence identity disc to another operator is waiting to see what action Scottish Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts will take. Derek Meikle, trading as Kilmacolm-based Derek Meikle Transport, appeared before the TC at an Edinburgh disciplinary inquiry. He holds a licence for two vehicles and two trailers.
Vehicle examiner John Doherty said that there had been two immediate and three delayed prohibitions imposed on Meikle's vehicles and trailers, plus three variation notices, since 1998. A maintenance investigation in March revealed Meikle had changed his operating centre without notifying the Traffic Area Office, safety inspections were not being carried out at the stated intervals, only three inspection records were available and there was no driver defect reporting system.
Meikle said he had burnt the inspection records for a vehicle he had sold in June 2001 as he was unaware he was required to keep them. A second vehicle had been off the road between February and July 2001 and there were no records for that period. This vehicle was disposed of in March and he had used hired vehicles from then until May.
Asked about a third vehicle which had been specified on the licence for about a year, Meikle said it belonged to a friend of his nominated transport manager, Alan Stirling, and he had agreed to lend him one of his 0-licence identity discs. He had not realised this was wrong. When it was pointed out that his wife had written to say he no longer owned that vehicle. Meikle denied ever owning it, explaining that was why there were no inspection records. Asked who had paid the licence fee for the vehicle concerned, Meikle replied: "The boy that owned it."
When Stirling had told the Deputy Traffic Commissioner at the last Public Inquiry that he would act as transport manager, said Meikle, the intention was that he would obtain his own CPC. However, he had failed the exam three times and his wife was now booked on a course. Stirling was not paid and had acted as transport manager under a voluntary arrangement. However, he no longer wished to continue this arrangement. A Robert Pickering, already specified by a number of other owner-drivers as the nominated transport manager, had agreed to stand in for a fee until his wife qualified. Meikle agreed that Stirling had not played a part in the business for some time and when asked whether he had found 'another name" with the Public Inquiry looming, he replied: "In a way, yes."
The TC said he would put his decision in writing, adding it was a pretty appalling state of affairs.