Loose wheels are universal problem
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• A South Yorkshire bulk tipper operator escaped with a warning after North Eastern Deputy Traffic Commissioner Patrick Mulvama accepted that the loose wheelnut phenomenon was universal throughout the industry.
Barnsley-based Jakto Transport had been called before the Deputy Commissioner at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry The company holds a licence for 16 vehicles and four trailers.
Vehicle examiner Brian Eden said the condition of the company's vehicles was satisfactory when he carried out a maintenance investigation in May. But vehicles examined dining roadside checks had been faulty, with defective springs and loose wheelnuts.
Questioned by Gary Hodgson for the company, Eden said drivers had been issued with warnings and an additional mechanic had been employed to carry out audits on the drivers' daily checks. He agreed that these were bulk-tipping vehicles and that spring defects could be an operational problem.
He accepted that loose wheelnuts could be a problem with heavy vehicles, with a tight wheelnut becoming loose during the day. He said there had been a great deal of concern in the industry about this and research showed it was a design problem. Eden agreed that but for the clutch of prohibitions in March, the company had a satisfactory record.
I lodgson had said that although drivers had been instructed to check wheelnuts with a bar every day, there was no guarantee they would still be tight at the end of the day. Mr Eden responded that if they had been tightened correctly, they should not come loose.
Managing director George Hellawell said he had done everything he could to ensure things like that did not happen again.
Hodgson said loose wheelnuts were a universal problem throughout the industry. Despite research conclusions that they needed to be larger, not a single manufacturer had responded.
Issuing the company with a formal warning, Mulvenna said he took account of Jakto's previous good record and the action taken.