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City authority told to name
Page 31
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a transport manager by kin Sherriff
• The report of the Association of Municipal Transport Officers (page 49 this issue) received an unexpected and immense boost in the Scottish area traffic court last week.
The Scottish LA, Mr A. B. Birnie, was hearing an application from Aberdeen City Council to continue its 0 licence and vary it by adding 20 lorries and three trailers. He told officials of the corporation that they would be required to name an officer as having overall responsibility for the vehicles, to ensure that the vehicles were maintained to a standard which would meet the law's requirements and that ail declarations in the statement of intent would be adhered to.
The LA pointed out that until now there had been no cause to complain about the roadworthiness of the vehicles but in at least two cases their maintenance records fell short of what
was required by the 1968 Act.
Appearing for the corporation, the city procurator, Mr J. Smith, said that of necessity the vehicles were controlled by the heads of the departments for which they worked. He pointed out, however, that their repair and maintenance was the responsibility of the corporation's passenger transport department.
To meet the requirements of the Act the council proposed that the city chamberlain (or treasurer) should assume responsibility.
In evidence a vehicles examiner, Mr G. A. Williamson, said he had interviewed the city chamberlain who had •stated that he had no knowledge of vehicle maintenance. He had signed the licence application forms "only because he was the man who signed the cheques".
The LA told the corporation
officials that he did not intend to be unreasonable over the matter but he pointed out that the law required that someone should be in a position• of overall responsiblity. And he reminded the officers that the person in whom the responsibility was vested was required to determine the method .ef inspection and maintenance and to decide when a vehicle should be taken off the road.
Mr Birnie added: "I think it would be hard on the city chamberlain to put him in this position."
The LA told the local authority to take another look at its present system. He suggested that it might be beneficial to examine how other local authorities were operating a centralized transport service.
Mr Smith agreed with the proposal and promised to report his findings to the court before the end of the year.