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Revocation after batteries fall off truck

9th August 2012, Page 15
9th August 2012
Page 15
Page 15, 9th August 2012 — Revocation after batteries fall off truck
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

TC Joan Aitken revokes the licence of Highland Car Crushers following an accident that closed a major road

The only outcome

This was not the first time the operator had appeared at a public inquiry and Aitken said revocation was the “only outcome” acceptable.

By Roger Brown

TRAFFIC COMMISSIONER (TC) for Scotland Joan Aitken (pictured) has revoked the O-licence of scrap car haulier Highland Car Crushers following an incident in which one of the irm’s trucks shed part of its load of vehicle batteries, resulting in the closure of a major road.

In a written decision, following a June public inquiry in Inverness, the TC also disqualiied the company, based in Black Isle, Ross-shire, and its directors for ive years from 1 September.

Vehicle batteries – which were illed with acid – fell from one of the irm’s trucks onto the Smithton roundabout on the A96 Inverness to Elgin trunk road in June last year.

As a result of the incident, the A96 was closed, while iremen wearing protective clothing and breathing apparatus loaded the batteries onto another vehicle to be taken away.

A Vosa vehicle examiner found that during the journey a consignment of cables had settled in the trailer, which caused the straps to loosen.

When the vehicle was cornering on the roundabout the force acted on the load and resulted in the battery boxes moving and detaching from the vehicle.

The examiner issued a prohibition against the vehicle, which was driven from the scene under police escort to the Vosa test station at Inverness for further examination.

A Vosa investigation identiied issues with the company’s vehicle maintenance and compliance with the dangerous goods regulations.

There had also been a failure to identify drivers’ hours offences, failure to carry out appropriate driver licence checks and failure of the company to declare a director’s conviction for drink-driving.

A driver had also been arrested and convicted after being stopped in a company vehicle under the inluence of alcohol.

Aitken ruled that the company directors had lost their repute, and that the irm’s transport manager had lost his repute and professional competence.

She said: “It would be a gross dereliction of my duties to the health and safety and well-being of others in Scotland who are not directors or employees of this company were I not to ind that this operator has reached a stage when revocation is the only outcome.

“Persons in business cannot expect to be as deicient and as much a threat to road safety as happened in this case, and expect to re-enter goods vehicle operating within a short period of time.” In January 2010, the TC suspended the irm’s O-licence for three weeks and urged it to improve safety, after police stopped one of its timber lorries on the A9. Trafic oficers had feared “catastrophic consequences” if it continued pulling its unsecured load, when they stopped the vehicle in December 2009.

This followed a warning to directors about maintenance issues in 2007.

Aitken revoked the irm’s O-licence for nine vehicles and nine trailers from 31 August.


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