Compliance concerns outlined in traffic commissioners’ annual report

Great Britain’s independent regulators for the HGV and PSV sectors, the traffic commissioners (TCs), published their annual report to the transport secre­tary in October, highlighting some of the key compli­ance concerns and challenges facing the sector as reflected in the cases of individual operators that had crossed their desks.

Publication of this year’s report, which covers the period to the end of March 2024, was slightly later than usual, having been delayed as a result of the general election.

Among the topics covered in a combined summary by the five TCs of England were changes to the Driver CPC, which have been approved by parliament since the report was published (see page 9); the commis­sioners said they had been in discussions with stake­holders regarding course content.

The English TCs also raised concerns about wheth­er transport managers were keeping up with the shifting demands of the job.

“It is becoming increasingly evident that, with new technology and differing ways of working, the role has changed,” they said.

“It is important for transport managers, particular­ly those who have been in the role for some time, to receive up-to-date training on managing the respon­sibilities they now have. TCs have seen a number that have failed in their duties despite holding a CPC qualification.”

Specifically, transport managers now needed to be able to understand the implications of technical readouts from tachographs and preventative mainte­nance inspections, they said, as well as their drivers’ employment status.

“TCs continue to highlight that there is a difference between obtaining a paper qualification and the ability to actually exercise effective and continuous management of a transport operation, which is the statutory requirement of a transport manager,” the report warned.

“The commissioners would like to see the Transport Manager CPC reviewed in the same way as [Driver CPC] to ensure that it is fit for managing the modernisation of vehicles.”

A further concern raised was that of operators unable to proper­ly control their drivers “due to the way they chose to engage them”. The report cited a public inquiry held last year involving a “sham driver agency arrangement”.

“In his decision, the TC noted that some operators still wrongly believe that anti-avoidance leg­islation does not apply and that HMRC cannot pursue workers, agents, and the operator.

“Whilst the TCs cannot rule on tax arrangements, operators and transport managers need to be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient arrangements in place to enable them to control their drivers,” the report warned. In addition it stressed the impor­tance of workers being treated in compliance with the law: “for example, whether the correct lev­el of national living wage is being paid and that any agency workers who have completed the 12-week qualifying period are given equal treatment as those employed di­rectly.”

On maintenance, the problem of providers struggling to find qualified fitters and mechanics had not abated, the English TCs said, with recent cases crossing their desks having served to high­light this, such as a PSV operator whose licence was revoked after reports of serious mechanical de­fects, following difficulties recruit­ing bus technicians.

England’s TCs had seen an in­creasing number of cases regard­ing drivers’ hours in the reporting year, including cases of driving without using tachograph cards, the alteration of tacho records, and the use of another driver’s card to avoid resting. One extreme example highlighted in the report, described by a TC as the worst case of its kind that he had ever presided over, involved 20 offenc­es of knowingly making a false record by an individual serving simultaneously as director, trans­port manager and driver.

“Non-compliance with drivers’ hours is normally the tip of the iceberg and can demonstrate that there are systemic issues,” warned the TCs, citing a case in which one of an operator’s drivers was found to be using two cards and avoiding rest breaks.

“Further compliance checks then uncovered that an unauthor­ised operating centre was being used and a breach of trust by us­ing vehicles registered to another company which had since been dissolved. The operator’s licence was revoked,” said the report.

“It has almost been 25 years since the then Transport Tribunal ruled that adherence to the rules relating to drivers’ hours is fun­damental to road safety. Industry should be in no doubt that the commercial advantage gained by engaging in such practices and the threat to road safety from tiredness cannot be tolerated.”

Some operators still appeared to misunderstand the Period of Grace which may be granted when a mandatory requirement of an O-licence is temporarily unmet, such as when a transport manag­er unexpectedly resigns.

The Senior TC had issued advice on Periods of Grace, how they are obtained, and the need to effec­tively manage dates, shortly after a local authority lost its licence to operate its fleet of recycling trucks.

“We would like all operators to consider this guidance so that they are aware of the facilities available which will enable them to take control of managing their operator’s licence,” said the TCs.

“Operators must be in no doubt when seeking a Period of Grace as to the risks if they do not ad­here to the time limits.”

The TCs warned there was a continuing trend for transport managers to leave their jobs giving little or no notice, and suggested that operators write employment contracts to guard against this.

The year had seen some cases involving dishonesty: notably one where maintenance records and brake tests had been forged and another where a signature had been forged to give the appear­ance that a transport manager was active in a business. There were also instances of licences being loaned to unlicensed oper­ators, leading to revocation.

On the Office of the Traffic Com­missioner (OTC) itself, the report highlighted the loss of 26 staff members since April last year, and of two commissioners: Claire Gilmore, TC for Scotland after five years in post, and Gerallt Evans, TC for the North-West of England, after just four years.

It cited heavy workloads and excessive hours as among the po­tential difficulties of retaining TCs in the longer term. “The abuse of public-facing workers has attract­ed a higher profile recently,” said the report. “We regret that those concerns extend to both commis­sioners and OTC staff with physical incidents and online abuse during the reporting period.”

Outgoing Scotland TC Claire Gilmore gave thanks to her team, particularly for the work done dur­ing the Covid crisis, and outlined some of the highlights of her tenure, such as piloting the first ‘online’ driver conduct hearings to deal with high-risk drivers.

Meanwhile Wales TC Victoria Davies was disappointed that the restructuring of the OTC had left her with no bilingual staff, despite recent progress in this area. She also said fewer cases were being put before her, result­ing in a reduction in numbers of hearings, and stressed the critical importance of DVSA enforcement action both to road safety and fair competition.