Maintenance problems have led to the licence held by Bradford-based Sovereign Travel being cut from six to four vehicles before it is revoked on 17 September by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Tim Blackmore.
Alyson Smith and James Gordon, trading as Sovereign Travel, had been called before the TC at a Leeds Public Inquiry (PI). The TC was also considering the repute of Transport Manager (TM) Wendy Smith, Mr Gordon’s domestic partner.
The TC said that after the issue of an ‘S’ marked prohibition in May 2017, a maintenance investigation was carried out in August. No inspection records could be produced. There were large bills for repairs, so maintenance was clearly reactive. The vehicles ranged from 12 to 20 years old and the inspection period was eight weeks. There was no evidence of driver training and the driver defect reporting was deficient. There was no evidence of roller brake tests and the forward planner was not in use. There was also no TM involvement at the time.
After being told that the latter was due to the serious illness of Ms Smith’s mother, the TC commented that the TM’s role was fundamental to road safety and Ms Smith should have stepped down.
Maintaining that they had had inspection records, Mr Gordon said that they had been kept in a container and the hire company took it away without authority. He did not tell the Vehicle Examiner as everything was “topsy turvy” at the time.
He had been operating for 17 years and he thought they had a good record. He had employed an office manager to do the admin work and Ms Smith had taken up her TM’s role in June. She was to go on a refresher course next month.
The inspection period had been cut to six weeks and he had engaged a transport consultant who would carry out quarterly audits. He had trained the drivers on walk-round checks and roller brake tests would be carried out at every inspection. He was seeking a new four-vehicle licence in the name of a limited company. He could survive with three vehicles.
In reply to the TC, Mr Gordon admitted that there had been no preventative maintenance inspections in December, January and February because the maintenance contractor had been moving premises. He also admitted that inspections between August and December had been irregular.
Making the curtailment and revocation orders, the TC said that inadequate maintenance systems had been in operation. There had been no TM for around 10 months and the shortcomings arose from that. This was the firm’s first PI and he sensed a willingness to change and rectify matters.
He had sympathy with the family problems, but road safety had been compromised. Any new application would come before him at a preliminary hearing when he would need to see what had been promised was taking place.
Issuing Ms Smith with a formal warning, the TC said that he accepted that family circumstances had clouded her judgement.
