Office of the Traffic Commissioner Key issues from public inquiry

Key issues from public inquiry
A new series designed to help you maintain and promote O licence compliance
Every week traffic commissioners hold public inquiries into a variety of issues.
For operators who are compliant, like you, it’s important to see what action traffic commissioners take to make sure there’s fair competition in the industry.
But these cases also offer guidance on staying compliant.
In a new series of bulletins, we’re going to take a look at some of the key issues raised in public inquiries.
In this first one, we offer guidance on downloading and driver defect reporting.
Downloading vehicle units and driver cards
• Decide what period is adequate within the maximum
• Take a risk based approach
• Consider factors that might increase risk, such as drivers who are away from base, drivers on tight schedules and drivers with a history of offences
• When the period for driver cards is exceeded there’s a chance data will be overwritten
Driver defect reporting
• Pay close attention to tachograph records which start with immediate driving. They’re showing you drivers who don’t do walk round checks or record them properly. It means the records are incomplete
• Professional drivers should be in the habit of putting their card in the slot immediately and selecting “other work”
• It should be automatic – failing to put the card in the slot could be a deliberate act
• Some drivers seek to hide a bit of driving, or other work, at the start of the day in case there are problems later
There’s further information on drivers’ hours and vehicle maintenance requirements on GOV.UK.