Two vehicles are suspended over maintenance problems
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Maintenance problems have resulted in two vehicles being suspended from the 10-vehicle/20-trailer 0-licence held by South Yorkshire heavy haulier Malcolm Gillott for six weeks. Sheffield-based Gillott appeared before North Eastern Deputy Traffic Commissioner Brian Homer at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry.
Vehicle examiner Peter Vardy said that five immediate prohibitions had been imposed on Gillott's vehi cles, including four for a signifi cant mainte nance failure.
There were also six delayed prohibitions.
Three warning letters sent to Gillett in the past two years appeared not to have been heeded, and 10 prohibitions had been issued over that period.
The vehicles were being inspected at threemonthly intervals when the stated intervals were monthly for vehicles and two-monthly for trailers.
Vardy agreed with the Deputy TC that the fleet was getting "a bit long in the tooth".
He agreed with Gary Hodgson, for Gillett, that a warning letter about the driver defect reporting system in July 1999 had been heeded. Hodgson said that Gillott had now returned to the stated periods between inspections.
The Deputy TC pointed out that the inspection periods had been arbitrarily increased, despite the prohibitions and warning letters. "It seems to me absolutely crazy," he said. "If anything, it should have been tightened up."
Gillett said he thought vehicles had been inspected more frequently but not recorded. One of the immediate prohibitions related to a power screen belonging to a customer. His son, who had been in charge of the maintenance, had done too much himself and was off work for a period. During that time he had used a fitter who had proved to be unsatisfactory.
The age of the fleet was because of his decision to retire, said Gillott, and another haulier was interested in taking over the business. He accepted that his son's decision to extend the inspection period was an error, and he agreed that things had slipped badly in the past few years.
The Deputy TC said he did not wish to harm the business permanently, but the shortcomings were such that he could not ignore them totally. As transport manager and sole owner Gillott should have had a more hands-on approach.