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TC suspends vehicle fleet for safety fears
Page 28
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A MANCHESTER haulier's fleet has been suspended until all vehicles have passed fresh MOT tests after a Traffic Commissioner declared she would not have the company "messing around with road safety".
Urmston-based operator Swiftfoot, with an international licence for five vehicles and 10 trailers, had been called before the North Western Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell.
The company had appeared at previous public inquiries in 2002 and 2003, when the licence was reduced from 14 vehicles to 10 and then from 10 vehicles to five.
Vehicle examiner Karl Finnerty said that he carried out a maintenance investigation following the issue of an S' marked prohibition. Since the last public inquiry, there had been one immediate and eight delayed prohibitions issued, plus six variation notices when vehicles were produced for prohibition clearance.
The initial pass rate at annual test was 14.81%, with a final pass rate of 22.22%. Some of the defects listed on the safety inspection records should have been picked up by drivers on walkround checks.
The inspection records showed that the maintenance contractor had not spotted a missing nearside mirror, leading to the immediate prohibition, and the company had taken it up with the garage concerned.
Director Graham Ralph said that commercial garages often inflated bills by pretending to have changed bulbs.
He said that a two-axle artic had failed at the test station for brake efficiency 14 or 15 times until it was downrated, with a prohibition being issued on each occasion.
They had since changed their maintenance contractors, said Ralph. He said that the vehicles were fit for the road, but added that they were "getting tired".
When questioned by the TC. Ralph admitted that he had de cided that a vehicle was fit to go out on the road despite defects noted by the maintenance contractor. In suspending the licence, the TC said that she would not have Ralph messing around with road safety.