Drivers’ hours and tachograph problems have led to the national licence held by Bathgate-based Hardhill Private Hire being cut from 14 vehicles to 10 for a minimum of three months by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Hugh Olson, coupled with the severest warning short of revocation.
The DTC refused it applications to increase the authorisation to 16 vehicles and upgrade the licence to an international one.
The firm had been called before the DTC at an Edinburgh Public Inquiry.
Traffic Examiner (TE) Beverley Stoner said that an analysis of the data and records for 1s August to 31 October 2016 showed that drivers had committed significant numbers of breaches of drivers’ hours in the three-month period.
There had been 140 instances when Hardhill vehicles had been driven without a card in the tachograph. There was extensive ignorance about drivers’ hours and tachographs among the drivers and there was no effective control of drivers and drivers’ hours.
Transport Manager (TM) Gemma Black said that she had taken on the role in April 2015. In part she had not been on the ball, but she had made changes.
She accepted that she had failed to identify drivers’ hours infringements and to follow a structured disciplinary process to deal with infringements. When she took over she had not been shown what to do and there were no real systems in place. She had received additional support from a friend of the firm’s sole Director, Ian Whatley, who had experience as a TM over the last nine months.
Mr Whatley said that he thought that the business had expanded too quickly for the systems and processes in place and he had now invested in staff and systems to help Ms Black.
He had thought that because she had done the TM’s course she would be able to fulfil the role. He had not identified that there were problems. He had asked her to do other roles such as accounts because he had thought that she had been coping. He had not been aware that there were issues until last year. He accepted that he had focused too much on the business and clients and neglected the systems. He also thought there had been massive progress in the last year towards compliance.
In his decision the DTC said that Mr Whatley expected Ms Black to manage the business when he was away in Spain for extended periods of time. The overloading of Ms Black, an inexperienced TM with other duties, was a significant cause of Hardhill’s non-compliance.
He had taken the exceptional step of not revoking the licence because he felt that he could trust Mr Whatley and Ms Black when they assured him that going forward Hardhill would be a compliant operator.
Hardhill had benefited from their non-compliance. If it had been a compliant operator then it would have had to have hired additional drivers to service the work that they had. It was appropriate to take some action to recognise the commercial advantage that Hardhill obtained from their non-compliance.
