TCs’ annual report turns spotlight on driver welfare

The traffic commissioners (TCs) of Great Britain have released their 2025-26 annual report, which opens by acknowledging the “tremendous challenges” HGV and PSV fleet operators have faced over the reporting year.

“Hostilities in the Gulf have impacted shipping generally and the price of fuel in particular,” said senior traffic commissioner (STC) Kevin Rooney in his foreword.

“Operators are finding profit margins narrowing or disappearing completely, whether that be in general haulage or a rural bus service. Those suffering from lengthy payment terms are suffering the most.”

The year had also seen challenges for the commissioners themselves and their deputies, he noted, three of whom had departed to take roles elsewhere, citing better benefits and flexibilities.

The report later noted that a high turnover rate of TCs “places a strain with a potential under-representation in areas and increases road safety risks”, and said the TCs would continue to advise the Department for Transport on how commissioners could be “retained through the availability of effective career development pathways and other incentives”.

STC Rooney reported: “This is the first full year where the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC) has enjoyed its own chief operating officer reporting directly to DVSA’s CEO.

“That has provided the separation between our support staff and DVSA’s enforcement officers that had long been lacking. It has brought a different approach and an interest at a high level in developing the OTC that is starting to feed through into tangible improvements such as increased development of the vehicle operator licensing system.”

Driver welfare was a key tenet of this year’s report. The TCs stated that they would continue to highlight “the importance for employers to provide support to their drivers giving prominence to the benefits to their welfare, their health and their safety”.

“There are well developed and available avenues to engage with operators, but we do not yet have the benefit of similar for drivers,” they acknowledged.

“We are keen to improve the advice and guidance that we can provide to drivers but also to identify effective means for direct communication.

“We also intend to engage with the sentencing councils to raise the awareness of the TC role in relation to professional drivers and the expectations of those drivers. This work will help to ensure a joined-up approach is taken in cases where drivers appear before the court with regards their driving entitlement and are then referred to a TC for determination of their professional licence.”

As in previous years, the bulk of the report was divided into summaries from England, Scotland and Wales.

The six English TCs reflected on the approaching centenary of the statutory creation of the commissioners with the passage of the Road Traffic Act in 1930.

“As we look towards that milestone, we are conscious of our responsibility to ensure that the regulatory framework remains effective, in which to deliver proportionate decisions in the interests of road safety and fair competition into a second century,” said the English TCs.

“Without the Traffic Commissioners, regulation of commercial vehicle standards would largely fall to criminal proceedings or appellate courts after harm has occurred. This is a preventative jurisdiction allowing for intervention before a danger to other road users materialises.”

They note the year’s renewed focus on driver welfare.

“In public inquiries and driver conduct hearings, we regularly see the impact poor physical and mental health has on drivers and the contribution to workforce shortages,” said the TCs.

“The official statistics from the DfT on HGV driver vacancies shows the challenge in the recruitment and retention of drivers and the importance of improving this working environment.”

The TCs also welcomed training being provided by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) for bus and coach drivers on violence against women and children.

“Traffic Commissioners are keen to support improvements in the working environments for all drivers. However, we are increasingly seeing cases of driver isolation, and it is imperative that coworkers and employers take steps to check on one another and provide support for those working away from home.”

The TCs raised a recent prosecution relating to a company that was providing D4 medical certificates to HGV licence holders or applicants.

“These certificates are supposed to provide assurance that the person is medically fit to drive HGVs, however in this case unhealthy drivers were being passed fit. The consequences of a medically unfit person driving a large commercial vehicle can be catastrophic.

“Operators need to be aware of the potential for this type of fraud and take reasonable steps to ensure drivers are medically fit to drive their vehicles.”

They also highlighted an increase in drug driving cases during the reporting year.

“Roadside drug tests are now commonplace, and the consequences of a positive test for insurance, professional competence, and the ability to earn a living are significant,” they warned.

“Operators should be testing their drivers. They need to understand what their drivers do at the weekend; they need to be talking to their drivers and helping them understand the lasting effects of substances. We believe operators need to do more to educate their workforce and ensure that drivers are fit to drive.”

The TCs said they continued to support maintenance recognition schemes such as the Maintenance Provision Rating Scheme (MPRS) and the increasing engagement they were seeing from workshops.

“Participation in such schemes does not replace the need for full compliance but can provide valuable assurance when supported by strong management systems… At the time of writing there are 227 [workshops in the MPRS] and 170 expressing interest in joining.”

In the bus sector, the English TCs said they were actively engaging with local transport authorities that had been given expanded powers by last year’s Bus Services Act, to support effective implementation of new franchising plans.

On the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) which require special accommodations for passengers with disabilities, they warned: “Failures to comply with PSVAR requirements are being considered at public inquiries. Rising costs have driven greater demand for retrofitting, and delaying action risks increased costs and operational disruption…

“Retrofitting provides flexibility for operators wishing to retain older but mechanically sound vehicles. Accessibility standards also bring increased training obligations, and we expect operators to ensure drivers are equipped to meet passenger needs.”

The TCs drew attention to the most substantial revision “in over a decade” to the STC’s statutory document on vocational driver conduct.

“The updated document introduces clearer and more consistent starting points for assessing driver conduct, supported by new case examples such as route planning errors and bridge strikes,” they said.

“The document also introduces new guidance covering non‑attendance, abusive behaviour, and company drug and alcohol test failures.”

In the Scotland section of the report, outgoing TC Richard Turfitt welcomed the appointment of Sharon Clelland, the first full-time Scotland TC in nearly two years.

“The staff in Edinburgh deserve and require the oversight of a permanent colleague on site,” he said.

TC Turfitt added: “Traffic commissioners are not alone in facing recruitment delays. The increasing pressures on stretched enforcement resources can be seen in the standard of evidence submitted. I am genuinely concerned that large areas of Scotland are not left without examiner cover and question an organisational plan which does not appear fitted to the geography and communities of this country.”

The outgoing TC for Wales, Victoria Davies, highlighted specific compliance campaigns she had championed targeting Welsh scaffolders, farmers and agricultural hauliers.

“This targeted engagement and education is an exciting development which should result in improved compliance and fewer calls to public inquiry,” she said.

The full annual report can be found here.