Traffic Commissioner said persistent non-compliance left operator unfit to hold a licence

The entire Operator Licensing regime is built around trust and honesty between the traffic commissioners and operators. The traffic commissioners need absolute certainty that those operating within the commercial transport industry can be trusted to carry out operations in a safe and lawful manner.

An operator saw its licence application refused at a public inquiry for failing to show any respect for the application process or for the laws within the industry as a whole.

The operator persistently ignored warnings not to operate without the correct licence in place, and was stopped by DVSA on a number of occasions doing exactly that, even after being explicitly advised of the legalities.

It took over 2 months for the operator to submit an application for a licence, continuing to operate illegally during that process and leaving other compliant operators, following the correct procedures, at an unfair disadvantage.

At the inquiry, the operator failed to produce any requested evidence in support of its application, claiming it was not aware it was doing anything wrong.

Transport commissioner for West Midlands, Nick Denton, concluded the operator could not be trusted to operate within the confines of the law and refused the application for an operator’s licence.