M & I Travel has been banned from undertaking any work other than local authority contracts for 14 days by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Simon Evans.
The company, of Lillyhall, Workington, with a nine-vehicle national licence, had been called before the TC because of concern over vehicle maintenance following a loose wheel incident.
In reply to the TC, Vehicle Examiner Matthew Greaves confirmed that the new arrangements would meet DVSA standards, but could not commit himself as to how long the wheel had been loose as there were a number of factors to consider. He had a general concern over the fitting of wheel trims as they prevented the driver from carrying out his daily walk-round check properly.
Agreeing the point about the wheel trims, the TC said that he had a general concern about loose wheel incidents of this nature. He considered that the high level of MoT failures should have prompted action from Transport Manager (TM) Graham Stephenson.
Director Martin Burgess said that the initial inspection period had been reduced to four-weekly. He saw problems in the quality of driver checks and the standard of repair being carried out by outside contractors. A new fitter had been employed who had a history in PCV operation who would now carry out the inspections. The company had written to all drivers reminding them of their responsibilities for walk-round checks. Driver training was being undertaken by a training company and there was going to be random spot checks.
When asked about the circumstances surrounding the wheel incident, Mr Burgess said that the vehicle was on its return journey from Edinburgh when the driver heard a noise he was not happy with and so pulled over and telephoned the depot – at no time did the wheel become detached. He did not blame the driver as he appeared to have done his walk-round check properly and if he had continued the wheel would have become detached. Had he left the depot that morning with a loose wheel it would have become detached on the outward journey.
Mr Stephenson admitted he had let things slide but said he was now more focused. Asked why he did not report the loose wheel incident to DVSA, he said that he believed it was only reportable if the wheel actually came off.
James Backhouse, for the company, said that that area of the country suffered from a lack of capacity and as all nine discs were used for local authority contracts any reduction would directly affect them. Sub-contracting was not a possibility as all operators were working to capacity.
In his decision, the TC said that the company was guilty of resting on its laurels and their response to the wheel incident was slow. He had to consider what impact his actions would have on the community. He therefore took unusual action of curtailing all operations except for local authority contracts for two weeks. He required undertakings that both Mr Burgess and Mr Stephenson would attend a TM refresher course.
