At his 104th hearing, Peter Wright will wait to hear the TC’s decision regarding his bid, and is continuing his appeal against Driver CPC legislation
Peter Wright’s Bradley Fold Travel has to wait to see the result of its bid for a new PSV O-Licence following a Golborne Public Inquiry, at which Mr Wright said that he felt it was a matter of principle to challenge law that he considered ultra vires.
The company, of Radckiffe, Manchester, of which the sole Director and proposed Transport Manager (TM) is Peter Wright, had sought a new two-vehicle national licence before Traffic Commissioner (TC) Simon Evans.
At the outset, the TC said that he was principally concerned with repute. In 2009 a licence held by the company was revoked, it being held that the company and Mr Wright had lost their repute.
Both were disqualified from holding a PSV O-Licence for 18 months. Those decisions were upheld on appeal. The refusal of claims by both the company and Mr Wright for the return of two impounded vehicles was upheld on appeal.
After the TC had referred to the suspension of Mr Wright’s vocational licence in May, Roger Allanson, for the company, said that had been lifted after Mr Wright had obtained his Driver CPC, which indicated the importance Mr Wright put on road safety.
Mr Wright said that the plan was to eventually operate two 12-metre coaches. Initially he would have one operational vehicle, with one as a spare. He would be driving himself, and vehicle maintenance would be contracted out.
In 2006, when prohibitions were issued against the company’s vehicles, he had considered that its maintenance systems were satisfactory, but due to the undue pressure he was under and being ‘knee capped’ he had to accept they had failed.
There had been considerable vandalism and a flurry of ‘invalid’ prohibitions. As a result the systems were now even better, having instituted systems similar to those operated by airlines.
He had found the Driver CPC course valuable. He was all in favour of training and had passed an up to date TM’s CPC examination in 2016. However, he was still appealing against the imposition of the Driver CPC legislation in this country as a matter of principle, as he believed the way it had been enacted was against both Magna Carta and the European Directive. That was why he had invited prosecution for driving without a Driver CPC.
The current hearing was the 104th since May 8 2006, in every one of which he had never hidden the truth even when adverse to him, admitting when systems had failed. He maintained that the prohibition issued on 8 May 2006 was false and part of a conspiracy against him. The vehicles were impounded for being operated outside the law, something that had never been established in any Court of Law. DVSA brought a prosecution but withdrew it. He did not accept DTC Mark Hincliffe’s view in 2009 that he was manipulative and untrustworthy.
Asked why he had arrived at the TAO that day with a cardboard box marked ‘unexploded bomb’, Mr Wright said the box had been in Mr Allanson’s office for years and he had come to the hearing on his bicycle. Metaphorically the contents were an unexploded bomb.
Questioned further he said that the ‘knee cappers’ were some VOSA employees, the Legal Aid Agency, Companies House and HMRC. He had deleted from the application form undertakings not to operate limousines and novelty vehicles because he felt they were unfair.
The TC is to issue his decision in writing at a future date.
