The TC found that two thirds of the operator’s fleet were found to be defective in a single day
Whitehaven-based Peter Kermeen and Elaine Fletcher, trading as 3D Travel, were disqualified for nine months from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence after their eight-vehicle international licence was revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Simon Evans.
In addition, the TC disqualified Mr Kermeen from acting as a Transport Manager (TM) for two years.
In 2010, 2012 and 2014 the licence held by the partners, of Whitehaven, was curtailed for varying periods because of maintenance issues and in 2015 a bid to increase the authorisation to 10 vehicles was refused [routeone/Court Report/4 March 2015].
Vehicle Examiner Mark Hyrams said that an ‘S’ marked prohibition was issued at an annual test for a long standing brake defect in April 2015. In December 2016, a delayed prohibition was issued for a brake defect. Four prohibitions were issued at a school check on 12 May, two for brake defects, one of which was ‘S’ marked; one for a tyre defect and one for a defective luggage door. The main concern was the prohibitions for brake defects.
In reply to the TC, Elaine Fletcher said they had felt they were on top of the inspections.
The school contracts were temporarily suspended for two weeks. They subsequently gave all the PSV school contracts up. The plan was to apply again for school contracts when they became available, and they had already applied for one. Half the fleet was currently for sale as they were reducing the fleet from 14 vehicles so it would be more manageable. The fitters were undergoing training and a member of staff was studying for the TM’s CPC to relieve the unmanageable workload for Mr Kermeen.
Mr Kermeen said that at a meeting with the County Council subsequent to 12 May, he was told the school did not want 3D travel on site again and it was suggested they resign the contracts.
The headmaster of the school later said that he had not said that, but that he objected to the public spectacle of school buses being checked in the school grounds by large numbers of DVSA officers. He personally objected to DVSA describing defects as ‘long standing’ and brake efficiency being ‘impaired’. It was interesting that DVSA were at every school they operated to on 12 May, including a private school.
In his decision, the TC said that that as a result of deficiencies in the in-house maintenance arrangements, including the lack of capability of the partners to manage its fitters, road safety has been compromised over a long period in an ongoing manner.
Those failures constituted a reckless, as well as negligent failure on the part of the firm. For two thirds of an operator’s fleet on a single day to be found defective and worthy of immediate prohibition was alarming in the extreme.
He found the assurances now being given to be hollow. He could not conclude that there was any greater likelihood of the steps proposed being effective than had been the case previously.
