rivers not company o blame for offences
Page 15

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
FTER it was revealed that a conviction on drivers' hours and cords offences related to the operation of heavy goods vehicles nd were in fact against the drivers only and not the company, owestoft Crane Hire Ltd was granted a psv Operators licence for ne vehicle by the Eastern Traffic Commissioners.
In addition, the CommisCommissioners' chairman ners were considering a reort from a vehicle examiner in hich there appeared to have een serious defects on a bus. hey were also concerned about professional competence as company records had been destroyed because it had not held a ,public service vehicle licence lafter 1973.
1 Evidence was given by a direcdor B. Stoddard of his connections with the operation of public service vehicles during the .qualifying period under the grandfather rights provision. He said that the present vehicle had been acquired for use on a fiveyear contract.
Ken Peter said though there must have been considerable doubt in the minds of the traffic area staff as to whether the company was fit to hold a licence, matters took on a somewhat different view after evidence was given. That was one advantage of a public sitting.
The Commissioners were satisfied about Mr Stoddard's professional competence, about maintenance facilities, and, as far as repute was concerned, there had been no convictions for two and a half years.
The Commissioners ruled that the vehicles should be examined again during the coming year to see that matters had improved, and Mr Peter warned that drivers' hours and records were something the company had to monitor carefully.