Scottish Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken has ruled that from Sunday (19 June), the waste business’ licence will be reduced from 144 to 121 vehicles for a period of 10 weeks.
This follows an incident on 31 December 2015, in which a refuse vehicle operated by the company was travelling along a slip road of the M8 when the nearside wheels came off.
One of the wheels hit and damaged a hearse which was part of funeral cortege travelling along Renfrew Road. The driver and passengers were uninjured.
The company has conducted a review of its wheel changing and torqueing procedures as a result of the incident.
Decision
In a written decision issued after a public inquiry, Miss Aitken said the incident had been “a truly shocking one”.
She added: “Had there been proper wheel security processes the loss of these wheels simply would not have happened.
“Given the weaknesses identified by the Inquiry, there will be a curtailment. This will serve as a marker to the operator of the seriousness of adhering to the licence undertakings and that compliance measures have to be credible.
“The operator should be in no doubt that if I find evidence of this nature again in any future investigation of this operator then a curtailment to the margin will not be the outcome.”
Review
Commenting on the decision, a spokeswoman for the William Tracey said that the Group takes the safety of the public, road users and employees “very seriously” and had reviewed procedures.
William Tracey said: “WTG notes the decision of the Traffic Commissioner in respect of an incident in December 2015 and is reviewing the findings therein. Following the incident WTG conducted a review of its wheel changing and torqueing procedures and has implemented a number of improvements to its operating procedures, training and documentation.”
Based in Paisley, William Tracey also operates depots in Beith, Linwood, Lugton, Irvine, Glenrothes and Newbridge.
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