News

A haulier with a history of prohibitions, including one for loose wheelnuts, had his licence revoked when he failed to appear before a Birmingham public inquiry. The three-vehicle licence held by Clun-based Aubrey Hudson, trading as Hudson's Transport, was revoked by West Midlands Deputy Traffic Commissioner Miles Dorrington.

The DTC said that an offer to surrender the licence had not been accepted. Vehicle examiner Dyfrig Williams said that he carried out a maintenance investigation in  January at eight days' notice following the issue of an 'S'-marked prohibition for loose wheelnuts.

Two vehicles were in use on the collection and delivery of bulk animal feeds. One vehicle examined was given an immediate prohibition for a defective parking brake valve lever. There was no forward planner or written driver defect reporting system. However, there was a pattern of regular inspections.

Since April 2004, one delayed and five immediate prohibitions had been imposed on the firm's vehicles. Most of the defects on the prohibitions should have been spotted during driver checks. The fail rate at annual test was 66% - around double the national average. Williams told the DTC there were no under-vehicle inspections or undercover facilities.

The DTC said that road safety had been compromised on a number of occasions. That should have been obvious to any responsible operator who was properly checking his vehicles. He held that Hudson had lost his repute both as  transport manager and operator, having failed to have effective control.

The system did not work

The prohibitions meant that the operator's system was not effective in maintaining the vehicles properly.