Caernarfon-based Tacsi Gwynedd and its directors Sion Ifor Edwards and Huw John Edwards have been disqualified indefinitely from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence.
In addition, Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones has disqualified its transport manager (TM) Alan Vaughan Owen from acting as such indefinitely.
Significant road safety issues and aggressive intimidation of DVSA examiners led to the immediate revocation of the six-vehicle licence held by the company after it failed to appear at a Welshpool Public Inquiry at the end of August.
In revoking the licence and indicating that he would be disqualifying the directors and TM, the TC said that the annual test failure rate was deplorable and road safety had been significantly jeopardised.
The company had been running unsafe vehicles without a TM and false information had been given to DVSA about a wheel loss and the work of the TM. There had been a clear attempt to mislead, a lack of co-operation and a deliberate attempt to intimidate DVSA officers. The company had been aware they were in difficulty and had tried to stop the investigation [routeone/Court Report/19 September 2018].
Making the disqualification orders in a written decision, the TC said that aside from abject failures to comply with assurances in relation to road safety and record keeping, the company and its controlling mind had sought to obfuscate, mislead and obstruct. Furthermore, there had been attempts to intimidate DVSA examiners.
He accepted that there was no reference at the hearing to director Huw John Edwards. He was the father of Sion Ifor Edwards. He was a statutory director and his responsibilities were the same as that as his son. If he sought to re-enter the industry, he would need to demonstrate that he was capable of operating compliantly and that there could be no repetition of the appalling facts that had led to the revocation of the licence. There would also be a need to be an assurance that lessons had been learned.
In making the disqualifications for an indefinite period, the TC said that it was not appropriate to suggest that in a specified period of years the company or its directors could be allowed back into the operator licensing regime.
There would be a need for a fundamental change in culture; there would be a need for tangible evidence that lessons had been learnt; and that there would be fulsome cooperation with regulatory and enforcement bodies.
Turning to Mr Owen’s repute as a TM, the TC said that he had not undertaken that role and he had deliberately misled the DVSA. He told untruths to Vehicle Examiner Ruth Kyriacos about his holiday with a view to avoiding meeting her.
Many of the failings identified were ones that a competent TM could and would have addressed. That did not happen as he was either never present or was rarely present.
He had a full-time job in the Abergavenny area and had little or no role in Tacsi Gwynedd. Consequently, he had lost his repute as a TM.
