DVSA: don’t hire discs to other operators

The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has reminded operators that the practice of lending or hiring vehicle operator licence (O-licence) discs is illegal, and can harm the repute of companies and individuals.

Nick Denton, traffic commissioner for London and the south-east, recently called two operators to public inquiry after allowing an unlicensed company to run vehicles on their licences.

“The consequences were significant,” said DVSA. “One operator had their licence curtailed to one vehicle for three months, despite having work for a second vehicle. Additionally, a transport manager for another company lost his good repute and was disqualified for three months.

“Mr Denton found that neither company acted with malign intent, but said they should have known the proposed arrangements were illegal.”

The transport manager had been “extremely foolish and naive” in accepting the bogus proposals, Denton said, while the director of the first company was “extremely reckless”, because he had failed to inform the transport manager about the addition to the fleet of a fuel tanker – despite the director having no experience of transporting dangerous goods.

“Operator licences aren’t ever transferable and discs should never be shared with other businesses – even if there is a margin,” said DVSA.

“Both cases show that operators and transport managers should work closely together and that no individual should have responsibility for doing everything (eg adding vehicles to the licence) without supervision or regular cross-checking.

“The action taken by the traffic commissioner means that compliant operators aren’t disadvantaged by non-compliant businesses.”