Cottingham-based ND Plastics lost its bid for a new one-vehicle restricted licence after telling Traffic Commissioner (TC) Tim Blackmore that a party bus the company acquired as a bad debt payment would just be a small “add on” part of the business at a Leeds Public Inquiry.
The TC made in plain that holding an O-Licence was a serious business and not just an “add on”.
Asked why the directors, his wife and brother, were not present, Sales Manager Neil Dransfield said that they were away as it was the school half term holiday. They had not intended to get a party bus – it just happened, so they decided to apply for a licence.
The TC said that there was no evidence before him that the requirements for holding a licence were met.
He needed evidence of the maintenance and drivers’ hours systems. On the application form the section about drivers’ hours was ticked as not applicable. As the bus would be operated for hire or reward it was applicable.
The onus was on the company and its directors to assure him that those things were in place.
Before he got on to other issues, he needed to be satisfied that they could run a satisfactory and compliant operation. It was important that he knew who he was regulating and he would have thought that the directors would have made an effort to attend as it was them who he would be giving a licence to.
After Mr Dransfield had said that he knew more about it than his brother and wife, the TC said that the directors of the company had to have the knowledge. There was a list of undertakings on the application form which the directors had signed to say that they had that knowledge. He was being told that they did not, so he had been misled.
In reply to the TC, Mr Dransfield said that he had not heard of the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness.
The TC pointed out that the ultimate responsibility lay with the directors as it was the directors he trusted with a licence. It was not something they could delegate.
He would like to see them go on an O-Licence awareness course, so they understood how to meet the necessary requirements. What the company needed to do was to make a compliant application. It was all available online and there was plenty of professional advice out there.
In regard to the bus, the information on the COIF did not match up with what was on the V5 or with what the Traffic Examiner had seen of the bus on the ground. A notifiable application needed to be made and the V5 amending.
The family needed to go away and have a conversation over whether they wanted to do this. He could not guarantee they would be granted a licence but, if they did everything that was needed, the chances were they would if they made a fresh application.
