Business has transport rights suspended
A Rutherglen food and drink supplier with a poor transport track record has been suspended from running vehicles by Scotland’s traffic commissioner for one month.
Joan Aitken said it was“shocking” that GSR Distributions Ltd, trading as Spiceway, had operated a defective vehicle on the road last July, after being given a routine safety inspection in March of that year.
The company’s vehicles were supposed to be checked every six weeks and Miss Aitken said it fell into an“unacceptable way”of putting business priorities ahead of its vehicle safety regime.
Following a public inquiry in Edinburgh last month, Miss Aitken added:“The six-weekly safety inspection cycle for the operator’s vehicles had fallen into a haphazard state.
“The operator … did fall into the unacceptable way of putting business priorities ahead of a tight regime for ensuring vehicles were roadworthy.”
GSR Distributions Ltd has held a restricted goods vehicle operator licence since November 2004 and has authorisation for five vehicles.
The sole director is Mr Saeed Hussain.
Miss Aitken added:“Mr Hussain fully accepts that the blame lies with him.”
This is not the first time the company’s transport has been found lacking.
In 2007, Spiceway was called to a public inquiry for overloading issues and received a warning from the deputy traffic commissioner.
A conviction in 2010 led to a warning from the traffic commissioner. In 2014, an adverse report from DVSA led to Spiceway being called to a public inquiry.
And in 2015, the licence of two company vehicles was curtailed for eight weeks and the firm acknowledged its maintenance systems had to improve and persuaded the Traffic Commissioner not to revoke the licence by supplying evidence that remedial action had been taken.
However, last July one of the operator’s vehicles was the subject of a DVSA maintenance investigation.
And in October the examiner found that the operator’s two vehicles were not being inspected at six-week intervals. A report from DVSA prompted last month’s public inquiry.
Last month Mr Hussain said he was “ashamed”that one of his vehicles had been on the road in an unworthy state and accepted that it was his fault. There had been a re-organisation of duties in the business and the person to whom the vehicle maintenance arrangements had been given had not ensured the six-weekly checks.
The firm’s driver has also been disciplined for not undertaking the correct checks. Mr Hussain said that he had“delegated”but he should have been double checking.
GSR Distributions had changed maintenance contractor and this has not worked out. The firm has since reverted to using their original contractor.
Miss Aitken added:“I do believe that Messrs Hussain and O’Reilly are serious people. Mr Hussain fully accepts that the blame lies with him.
“I am not amused that it has taken a DVSA encounter and investigation before compliance has been achieved.”