‘Total chaos’ within the management resulted in a catalogue of faults, including the minibus driver failing a drug-driving test
Bournemouth-based Cavendish School of English and Director Marcus Barber were disqualified from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence after the company’s two-vehicle restricted licence was revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Kevin Rooney, after its minibus was driven by an unqualified driver who had been smoking cannabis.
The licence was granted at a Public Inquiry in February 2018 after the 12-vehicle O-Licence held by the associated Cavendish Liner was revoked.
The TC said that on 14 July, PC Mark Burton came across a minibus driven by Justin Fayer, who was employed by Cavendish School of English. Mr Fayer was at the location to collect a group of language students to take to Heathrow. Mr Fayer was not the holder of a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, nor did he have entitlement to drive the minibus for hire or reward. Mr Fayer smelt strongly of cannabis, was arrested, admitted to being a regular cannabis user and subsequently failed a drugs test.
For the company, Nathan Barber said that transport was now largely undertaken by German coaches which brought the students into the country and stayed with them. There was one 16-seat minibus in possession which was used for students arriving by air into Gatwick and Heathrow. Mr Fayer had been recruited on recommendation of a long-serving employee, the caretaker, who had since retired. He was initially recruited to drive the smaller vehicles, cars with eight seats. It had not been intended that he drive the minibus. Mr Barber had checked his plastic photocard but not his DVLA record online. He knew now that that was inadequate. He was unaware that Mr Fayer used cannabis.
The TC said that the MoT on the vehicle had expired on 26 May 2019 and was not re-MoT’d until 22 July, and the vehicle was clearly in use as the police encounter was on 14 July. Inspections were specified at 10 weeks yet the records produced showed intervals of 10, 14 and 24 weeks.
Mr Barber accepted that systems were inadequate, saying that the vehicle had not been used over the winter period. The driver incident had caused him to re-evaluate everything. There was no policy for brake testing. He was booked on an O-Licence refresher course.
The TC had said the company had no facility to download a vehicle tachograph or driver card. The vehicle unit was not locked-in to the company as there was no company card in possession. No analysis had been undertaken.
Mr Barber said the company could use a printout from the tracking system to check on drivers’ hours and working time.
Making the revocation and disqualification orders, the TC said that the use of a vehicle, whose MoT had long-since expired, by a driver without entitlement or professional qualification, who was over the drug-driving limit, who was not having tachograph records checked, who was not recording daily walk-round checks and who was driving a vehicle the maintenance of which was haphazard reflected a position of total chaos where all management control had failed.
