The two-vehicle restricted licence held by Motherwell-based Jardines Travel was revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Claire Gilmore after a DVSA investigation revealed that few, if any, systems for compliance with the O-Licence regime were in place.
The company had been called before the TC at an Edinburgh Public Inquiry (PI) because of concerns over a failure to fulfil an undertaking on the licence; a contravention of a condition attached to the licence; and a prohibition issued to a vehicle, following a request for a PI after a proposal to revoke the licence.
The TC was told that DVSA examiners stopped a 16-seat Ford minibus during a mobile check. The vehicle was found to have no tachograph fitted. It also had no Certificate of Initial Fitness and no commercial MoT allowing it to be driven for hire and reward. It was tested as a Class V vehicle only.
The driver, William Rankin, was interviewed. He stated that he had only driven for Jardines Travel since the day before the stop.
Follow up enquiries by a DVSA Traffic Examiner revealed that the company had no systems in place for monitoring drivers’ hours; that there was no record of work being done; that there were no Working Time Directive records; and that there was no system in place for driver induction or driver training.
The company had done little PSV work because Director William Jardine was hoping to obtain rail replacement and school contract work as the basis for the business but had not done so.
In reply to the TC, Mr Jardine also admitted that he had not kept separate records detailing PSV and non-PSV work, as was required by a condition attached to the company’s O-Licence.
He agreed that he had failed for several months following the DVSA investigation to implement the advice given, or to put in place appropriate systems to ensure compliance with the rules on drivers’ hours.
The TC considered that the improvements since made had been too little, too late. Revocation of the licence was appropriate under the circumstances.
