Compliance requirements should be embraced as an opportunity rather than seen as a burden, delegates at The Big Coach Conversation on 27 March heard from JMW Solicitors Partner and Head of Road Transport Laura Hadzik.
Ms Hadzik notes that operators must stay on top of compliance and that the traditional reactive approach is no longer appropriate. Should action be taken only when DVSA makes contact or a Public Inquiry (PI) call-up letter is received, “it is then very difficult to get back on the correct path.”
In addition, she advises operators that responsibility for ensuring compliance must go to the top of an organisation regardless of its size, an approach that should involve O-Licence-related training at all levels.
Internal and external audit of compliance is a good way to identify developing problems, and performance should be visible to everyone within the organisation. Operators should also be proactive in assessing products to improve safety and monitor driver behaviour, Ms Hadzik advocates.
Drivers are key to compliance, and they should be invested in, she continues. Well-trained drivers are more compliant, and such training should not merely be seen as a minimum requirement under law
Those that are skilled are also more efficient, while health and wellbeing of the driver pool is a further important consideration. Ms Hadzik cautions of numerous examples of where drivers were found unfit to be behind the wheel when telltale signs may have been present.
On vehicles, having a fleet in first-class condition should be actively pursued. Not only does it prevent breakdowns, it improves an operator’s reputation and passenger experience.
To that end, competence of engineering staff should be under the microscope, and if necessary, they should be upskilled.
“Embracing compliance has many benefits,” Ms Hadzik concludes. “A better reputation with the Traffic Commissioner (TC), lower insurance premiums, improved efficiency, and far easier expansion; any application to increase your authorisation will be easier for the TC to grant.
“Do not view compliance as a cost. See it as a significant investment that will reap rewards.”
