Traffic Commissioner says regulatory action inevitable for non-compliant operator
A recent public inquiry saw an operator have its licence taken away for not putting enough importance on the undertakings it agreed to when applying for the operator’s licence.
The operator had vehicles stopped on three separate occasions – each time they were overloaded.
Vehicles were being driven by a driver who didn’t have the right entitlement, and the director wasn’t aware of the driver hours’ rules.
A vehicle which wasn’t specified on the licence was driven for a full month without a valid MOT.
An audit carried out on the company showed there was no compliance and the director had “a lot to learn”.
The West Midlands Traffic Commissioner, Nick Denton, said it was clear the operator failed to understand “even the basic requirements and responsibilities relating to HGV operations and licensing”.
The regulator added that the company should be under no illusion about how difficult it would be to overcome its very poor history and have any future licence application approved.
