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by Les Old ridge AIRTE, AMIMI
Maintenance obligations
ALL LEGISLATION concerning the operation of goods vehicles made in recent times has laid particular emphasis on the need for adequate vehicle maintenance. It is now quite obvious that to obtain and retain an operator's licence it will be necessary to provide proper workshop facilities for the fleet, to carry out regular maintenance and to keep records of the work done on each individual vehicle. It is true that maintenance and repair work can be "contracted out" to a public garage, but even in this case arrangements must be made for the necessary records to be kept and to assure the Licensing Authority that the arrangements made are adequate.
The Construction and Use Regulations have, for many years, required that brakes, steering, tyres, silencers and parts and accessories be maintained in good and efficient working order or so that no danger is caused or is likely to be caused to persons on the vehicle or to other road users.
These Regulations apply not only to the owners of commercial vehicles but to all types of driver from the moped rider to the steamroller man. The present Regulations lay down standards for certain parts of the vehicle; for example, brakes must reach a certain efficiency and tyres must not be used after they have fallen below a specified standard.
Turning to more recent legislation, Section 62 (4Xc) of the Transport Act 1968, in dealing with applications for operators' licences states that the applicant shall give to the Licensing Authority, if required, "particulars of the facilities and arrangements for securing that the vehicles will be maintained in a fit and serviceable condition". The Ministry of Transport has issued guidance on maintenance arrangements and facilities which it believes may be helpful in assessing what is likely to constitute a system that would be regarded as satisfactory by the Licensing Authorities in considering applications, and a complete guide will eventually be sent to all existing holders of carriers' licences (Commercial Motor, August 1, 1969).
Facilities Section 64 of the Transport Act says, inter alia, that if the Licensing Authority is not satisfied concerning the maintenance facilities provided by the applicant for a licence, he shall refuse the application. If he thinks fit he can, by powers given to him by the same section, consider whether the provision of proper maintenance facilities is prejudiced by reason of the applicant's having insufficient financial resources for that purpose. If he is not satisfied on this point he must refuse the application.
Section 82 (4) of the Transport Act permits an officer, at any reasonable time,
to enter any premises of an applicant, or the holder of a licence, to inspect the facilities. "An officer," in this connection, means a Ministry of Transport examiner and any person authorized for the purpose by the LA or any police constable who shall not, if wearing uniform, be required to produce any authority. Anyone obstructing an officer requiring entry is liable to a fine of £100.
Section 69 of the Transport Act gives the Licensing Authority power to revoke, suspend or curtail an operator's licence on any one of six grounds. Two of these relate directly to poor maintenance of the vehicles. In the first place if the holder of the licence or his servant or agent is convicted of any offence relating to "the maintenance of vehicles in a fit and serviceable condition" the licence may be revoked, suspended or curtailed. Secondly, a prohibition of the use of a vehicle under Section 184 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 or to the driving of a vehicle under Section 16 of the Road Safety Act 1967 lays the holder of the licence open to similar action by the LA.
Vehicle examiners Section 184 is the section under which GV9s have been issued for many years and the other section referred to relates to the newer power given to vehicle examiners which allows them to prohibit the driving of dangerous vehicles, whether loaded or not, and to order the off-loading of a dangerously over-loaded vehicle.
All these powers of the LA are in addition to those in Section 178 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 which, inter alia, gives him power to revoke carriers' licences because of bad maintenance.
Section 18 of the Road Safety Act 1967, not yet in force, gives the Minister power to make regulations requiring operators of goods vehicles to have inspections of vehicles made at regular intervals by a suitably qualified person to ensure that the Construction and Use requirements are being complied with. There is no description at the present time as to what qualifications the inspector will need to hold, or at what intervals the inspections will have to be carried out. Records will have to be kept of the inspections and the action taken to remedy any defects found, and these records will have to be preserved for a period not exceeding 15 months.
The man responsible for all the maintenance requirements described in this article will be the transport manager required to be specified in every operator's licence by Section 65 of the 1968 Act. In this section it specifically states that he shall be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the authorized vehicles normally used from the centre.