Operator Over Reliant on Poor Quality Transport Consultant Nearly Loses Licence at Traffic Commissioner’s Public Inquiry

The Operator in this case, represented at Public Inquiry by barrister Harry Bowyer, was operating under an exemption which was withdrawn. He applied for a restricted Operator’s licence and realised a few months after the grant that he was not coping with compliance.

He contacted a Transport Consultant who took a retainer but had a “hands off” manner. After six months of the retainer the operator did not have access to OCRS or VOL. His drivers’ walkarounds were inadequate and sporadic. The PMIs were not being done in the specified periods and the company had multiple MOT failures and prohibitions. One driver was found not to have had the proper entitlement on his licence.

The operator, to be fair, realised that he was still sadly not compliant and contacted a reputable transport consultant with a more hands on approach who began to turn the company around with new systems and training.

The Traffic Commissioner, whilst accepting that there was little practical help by the consultant who advised what should be done but not how it should be done, said that, nonetheless, the duty is on the operator is responsible for compliance and should not assume that they can delegate the responsibility. The regulatory failures were firmly at the operator’s door and he was only just persuaded that the licence should continue