Expecting your fellow operators to stick to the rules isn’t unreasonable.
If you’re investing time, resources and money into staying compliant, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t either.
Every bid for work should be made on a level playing field.
However, for a minority of operators, that’s not the way they do things.
Some licence holders deliberately flout the rules, compromising safety standards and gaining advantages over compliant businesses.
That’s where the traffic commissioners come in. Take this recent case before the West Midlands Commissioner, Nick Denton.
Before the operator got his licence, Mr Denton made him promise to keep records of his minibus income.
That’s because the type of licence he asked for would only let him run PSVs on a part time basis.
If the minibus became his full time job, he’d need to get a standard licence. As you know, this means employing a transport manager. And meeting higher financial tests.
A few months ago, DVSA found out the operator had been running the minibus full time. In fact, the examiner reported numerous, repeated and serious drivers’ hours offences.
Shockingly, the operator had also falsified maintenance records.
Mr Denton took the operator out of the industry for three years and revoked his licence immediately.
He said the drivers’ hours and maintenance history constituted an “unacceptable threat” to road safety.
