'Hopeless' haulier is banned
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The Scottish Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts has revoked Cockbumspath-based RV Drysdale's licence, agreeing with its managing director that perhaps he should not be an operator.
In addition to revoking the five-vehicle/seven-trailer licence at an Edinburgh disciplinary inquiry, the Commissioner disqualified the company and managing director Kim Drysdale from holding or obtaining an 0-licence for 12 months.
Traffic examiner John Dunlop said that in March 1995 the company was fined £100 for failing to keep tachograph records in proper order. When it was asked to produce the records, only five were produced: Drysdale had said the others had been burnt in error.
Dunlop said that in October 1998 an anonymous letter was received alleging that Drysdale Freight, a firm run by Drysdale's brother Robin, was breaking all the rules when delivering to the Tesco distribution centre at Livingstone, but an examination of tacho charts did not reveal any problem.
When enquiries were made at Tesco, traffic examiners were told that the only Drysdale delivering there was Red Drysdale. When tacho records were obtained from that company, they revealed unrecorded distances on several dates, with 3,330km missing in November 1998 and 5,817km in December.
The Tesco delivery sheets also showed that Thomas Patterson, a driver who was employed by Drysdale Freight, had delivered goods on two dates to Livingstone. Both dates were preceded by six daily driving periods. Patterson admitted he had carried out those deliveries on behalf of R84K Drysdale. He had not kept a tachograph chart for those deliveries and he should have been resting on those days.
When the traffic examiners visited R&K, Drysdale initially refused to see them, said
Dunlop, but then gave them five minutes, saying he had been lax in getting the tacho records in and that he didn't care if the licence was taken off him.
Drysdale said the company operated one vehicle. The missing tachograph records were trips by a driver who was not the regular one. The driver had said he had left the records in the lorry but when he went to collect them they were not there. When the traffic examiners had barged in without notice he had lost his temper.
Drysdale said he presumed they had been stuck for a driver and pressure had been put on Patterson to drive for them. He didn't know Patterson's previous driving history—he didn't ask casual drivers. he would have expected him to hand a tachograph chart in but again it had not been collected.
"I am absolutely hopeless at it," said Drysdale. "Perhaps I should not be an operator."
Making the revocation and disqualification orders, the Commissioner said Drysdale had displayed a most casual attitude to the licensing regime.