Office of the Traffic Commissioner series which aims to help you maintain and promote O licence compliance
Usually it’s the action against an operator which grabs the headlines in a public inquiry case. If a licence is revoked and someone is disqualified, that’s what gets the most attention.
But, behind the headlines, each case offers lessons for other operators, transport managers and drivers.
And that means there’s valuable guidance from commissioners on how to avoid compliance issues and reinforce your commitment to safe working practices.
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner series, they look to a recent case where a Northamptonshire operator running five vehicles didn’t do enough to show the business would be compliant in the future.
The decision by East of England Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt, makes several important points:
- be proactive if your maintenance contractor does not live up to standard
- closely inspect preventative maintenance sheets when they are returned (before the vehicle or trailer returns to service)
- a low first time pass rate at annual test requires immediate management
- remember you are responsible for the vehicles operated under your licence – customers should not be involved in the control of a transport operation
- your transport manager should always be prepared to ask questions to identify the true cause of any compliance issue
- if they don’t have the technical knowledge to resolve any issues, they should know where to find it and which questions to ask
- a transport manager who also acts as a driver may not be able to exercise continuous and effective management of the transport operations when there are other pressures on their time
About CheckedSafe
CheckedSafe develop Apps and web-based reporting systems with integrated compliance and safety applications that are multi-functional and secure. The system offers organisations complete solutions, which enables them to manage and protect their workforce and comply with legal and commercial requirements whilst reducing cost and liability.
Our management team formed CheckedSafe with a vision to provide contemporaneous compliance solutions that could be tailored to any industry. Together with our dedicated team of developers and client account managers, we are now providing compliance services across commercial and plant hire vehicles, Utilities and many other service sectors that are monitored for compliance and efficiency.