DTC Simon Evans issued a warning to two ‘foolhardy’ operators after a vehicle and driver was loaned between the two
Only the foolhardiest of operators would engage in vehicle loan, hiring out or subcontracting without exact clarity about the arrangement entered into.
This was the warning sounded by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Simon Evans when he took no action other than to issue formal warnings to Ilkeston-based Little Transport, trading as Littles Travel, with a 20-vehicle international licence, and Southall-based Chalfont Coaches of Harrow, with a 22-vehicle international licence.
They had been called before the DTC because of an apparent possible lending of a vehicle and driver between the two.
Traffic Examiner (TE) Adrian Prior said that in June 2015 a colleague at Whipsnade Zoo checked a coach driven by Driver Dickson and it was apparent that Mr Dickson had been “pulling his driver card” and continuing to drive. Mr Dickson had said that he and the coach were on loan to Chalfonts from Littles for one month. The coach was displaying a Littles’ licence disc.
The driver was being paid by Littles and he believed that Littles had been the operator of the vehicle on that day. There was no written agreement between the two – only a verbal agreement.
Chalfont Director Ivan Shears said they had obtained some additional work. Littles had two spare vehicles and they had subcontracted the work to them for six weeks. Littles maintained control of the drivers and they had the coaches back at the weekend if they needed them.
In reply to the DTC, Mr Shears said he had been in charge of scheduling whilst the two vehicles and drivers were with them. With hindsight he felt it would have been better if they had just hired the vehicles and used their own licence discs.
TE Prior said that he had asked for all of Littles’ driver documentation and another driver, Ian Mann was also “pulling his card”, in his case for personal reasons. Overall there was a very low infringement rate.
The company had already dealt with Mr Dickson and Mr Mann was under investigation by the company at the time. He agreed that all the work given to the two drivers could have been done lawfully. He accepted that there was not always a written agreement when work was subcontracted.
Littles’ Director Steven Wells said it had been a short term arrangement with Chalfonts and if it had been any longer they would have had a more formal agreement. They would not do it again.
Transport Manager Peter Jones said a lesson they had learnt was not to trust any driver. They had reduced the vehicle unit download period from 90 to 30 days to more quickly pick up any problems.
Issuing warnings to both companies and their Transport Managers, the DTC said he felt that they had mishandled the hiring arrangement. A situation where a driver had two masters was fraught with potential problems.
