A haulage firm at the centre of an accident that led to a woman's death has been put out of business by the Traffic Commissioner. A 30-tonne digger rolled off a transport lorry and hit a car killing a passenger on the A9 in Ross-shire in July 2006. A public inquiry in March heard that 29 prosecutions were issued against Munro & Sons (Highland) Ltd for safety breaches since 2005. These included defects that contributed to the death, as well as problems with brakes, oil leaks and loose wheel nuts.
Prior to the inquiry in March, the company had also appeared at inquiries in 1997, 2004 and 2005. As well as withdrawing the company's operating licence, Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken disqualified former director Pamela Munro for two years. Driver Kenneth Finlayson, who had previously been involved in an accident on the A9 last year, was disqualified for 12 months.
In her written decision which details the accident, Ms Aitken said, "There can be no more victims. Clearly my orders will have significant impacts on the business including perhaps job losses and that steps will have to be taken to adjust the operation of the wider business. Disqualified operators often seek to re-emerge in other corporate form. I warn other operators and persons to be very wary of providing a front for continued operation by Messrs Munro."
