Operator's 'lost' application story fails to win back truck
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AN OPERATOR who claimed his 0-licence application was lost by an office girl failed to regain his impounded truck when he appealed to the Transport Tribunal. North-West Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell had refused to return an impounded vehicle to Birmingham based Roger Jack, trading as RSJ Transport.
The Tribunal was told that the vehicle had been impounded at Carlisle in December while carrying wall insulation. Jack, who was not driving, was telephoned and said he had applied to the West Midland Traffic Area for a licence some five weeks before. When asked to provide details,Jack rang back later to say a girl in the office had lost the application and had only just informed him of the fact. Before the TC, Jack maintained that he had truly believed that the licence application, together with an application for interim authority, was being processed. He agreed that he knew that he did not have au
thority to operate vehicles until he had been granted an interim licence. He also agreed he had heard nothing from the Traffic Area Office but repeated that he had assumed everything was in order.
The TC concluded that Jack had known that the vehicle was being operated without an 0-licence and the Tribunal backed her decision. DECISION CONFIRMED
The TO did not accept the explanation that a licence application had been mislaid; the Tribunal decided this was a reasonable conclusion.