Non-attendance leads to licence suspension
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• The three-vehicle licence held by David Foster, trading as Long Eaton Express Transport, of Swadlincote, was suspended when he failed to appear before North-Western Traffic Commissioner Keith Waterworth at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry.
Waterworth also refused an application to add a trailer to the licence authorisation. The Commissioner said he had turned down a request for an adjournment of the hearing because there were several issues of public safety at stake.
And he threatened to revoke the 0-licence if certain questions were not answered by Foster.
DOT vehicle examiner Ian Harrison said that one delayed and four immediate prohibitions had been imposed on Foster's vehicles. He had been unable to interview Foster except over the telephone and the operator had failed to turn up at the one meeting he had managed to arrange. When he phoned Foster, he said he was still in bed.
Two vehicles Harrison had inspected in April were issued with immediate prohibitions because of their poor condition. The direction indicators of one of the vehicles did not work. A driver said he had been instructed to take the vehicle for repair about 20 miles away.
An examination of the inspection records showed intervals of seven, eight and nine months between checks.
Suspending the licence, Waterworth said he would be taking steps to ensure that both the police and the Vehicle Inspec torate enforced his decision. The licence would remain suspended until Foster appeared to answer questions about his firm's maintenance and finance.
He would review the situation in one month. If there were no satisfactory explanations, he would revoke the licence.