Drivers’ hours offences have led to the one-vehicle restricted O-Licence held by Bolton-based Farid Bhaiyat being suspended for 28 days by then-TC Gerallt Evans.
Mr Bhaiyat was called before the TC after the minibus he was driving in April 2023 was encountered by a Metropolitan Police officer at the London Gateway M1 services. Mr Bhaiyat was the only occupant of the vehicle. Checks revealed that he had driven with another driver’s digital tachograph card inserted into the tachograph unit, which meant he had committed a weekly rest infringement.
The police issued Mr Bhaiyat with two higher-level graduated fixed penalties of £300, which he accepted. A Traffic Examiner subsequently carried out an investigation visit on 17 May 2023. The findings were unsatisfactory. There was no evidence of any analysis or system to monitor drivers’ hours. The tachograph downloader device in Mr Bhaiyat’s possession appeared to be unused.
The TC said that the Traffic Examiner’s up-to-date report commented that Mr Bhaiyat had taken on board the advice offered during the inspection visit, and was now using his driver’s card to record all journeys in the minibus. Analysis of the tachograph data had demonstrated that Mr Bhaiyat was downloading the driver’s card and vehicle unit on a weekly basis well within the period accepted. Only three infringements were noted over a four-month period, and these were not at level that would have resulted in more than advice if encountered at the roadside.
Mr Bhaiyat said that the issues started in 2022 when he first acquired a vehicle fitted with a digital tachograph. Having previously complied with the requirement on analogue tachographs, he found himself unable to download and analyse the new information. Since the April encounter, he had engaged a consultancy to assist him with that process, hence the improvement noted by the Traffic Examiner. He had already paid a heavy financial price for the incident in April 2023. In addition to the fixed penalties, he also had to fund two alternative minibuses to travel to collect his passengers and he had had the expense of preparing for the PI.
In his decision, drawing back from revoking the licence, the TC said that there did now appear to be appropriate systems and procedures in place to prevent further failings. However, the use of another driver’s card was a deliberate dishonest act by Mr Bhaiyat that could have created a risk to road safety, which must, inevitably, lead to serious doubts about his good repute and trustworthiness.
However, the tangible steps that Mr Bhaiyat had taken since that encounter and the fact that it did appear to have been an isolated incident did redress the balance to some extent.
The TC had also taken account of the audit undertaking offered by Mr Bhaiyat and his willingness to attend an O-Licence Awareness Training Course. Mr Bhaiyat must understand that his good repute had been badly tarnished by these events, and that he would need to work hard to make sure it was restored.
If any further issues were to arise, he must be under no doubt whatsoever that his right to continue operating PSVs would then be in real danger.
