NO ACTION AFTER UNDERTAKING
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AFTER Mr. John F. Fitzgerald, a Westbury haulier, had given a "solemn undertaking" not to infringe the regulations again, the Western Licensing Authority decided at Devizes on' Friday not to take any action on infringements of conditions of his C licence, for which he had been fined by Westbury magistrates. " But I must warn you", said the LA, Mr. J. R. C. Samuel-Gibbon, "that if it happens again, your licence will be in peril of being taken away altogether."
Mr. M. McGregor Johnson, for Mr. Fitzgerald, said that on August 4 his client pleaded guilty before Westbury magistrates to a number of summonses for various offences in connection with his vehicles. The most serious were for " regularly using vehicles outside the terms of his C licence" and in connection with drivers' records.
Mr. Fitzgerald said he had provided lorries for Road Contracting (Westbury) Ltd. for carrying stone. At the time he worked for no one else, he had not studied the regulations and, when the firm said this was a C-licence contract, he thought everything was in order. Those responsible for misleading him were no longer with the firm.
He had altered the driver's records because these showed a half-hour meal break which he thought must be one hour. He had made no attempt to disguise thc fact that they had been altered. Regarding the overloading of vehicles, this had been done by a driver without his knowledge. he said, and the driver was dismissed.
Announcing his decision, the LA said action might have been taken against Fitzgerald under the Perjury Act for altering the 'driver's record. His driver should be warned that if he attempted to overload a vehicle now, he could be doing his employer a very bad turn.