A. Section 1.8 of the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Introductory Statutory Document on operator licensing confirms that such vehicles should be added on the operator’s licence, with reference to an Upper Tribunal ruling (2002/134 WC Commercials Ltd), and case law (Booth v DPP [1993] R.T.R. 379), stating:
A tractor unit conveying empty trailers to and from the testing station amounts to the carriage of goods because ‘goods’ includes burden of any description. The hauling of trailers by a tractor unit for the purposes of testing and repair as part of a trade or business requires an operators’ licence.
SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT
Q. We have a driver who has applied to renew their C+E entitlement, which has expired since the renewal application was made, so they are driving under Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act. Can they complete any periodic Driver CPC (DCPC) training whilst their licence is being renewed? They have an acquired rights C1 entitlement as they passed their car test prior to 1 January 1997.
A. As they have a valid C1 entitlement through acquired rights, the driver would be able to complete periodic DCPC training whilst their C+E entitlement is being renewed. If, however, a driver did not have an acquired rights entitlement – eg they passed their car test after 1 January 1997 – any DCPC periodic training they completed would be unable to be uploaded against the drivers’ training record.
TACHO OR LEAVE?
Does it state anywhere in legislation that a driver must not leave their digital tachograph card in the vehicle overnight, even if the card is out of the vehicle unit?
There is no specific guidance on leaving cards in vehicles. However, there are numerous references within legislation which define the driver card as being the responsibility of the driver and ensuring that it can only be used by them.
By leaving the card in the vehicle, it creates the possibility that the card may be used by someone other than the authorised person, even unwittingly. For example, this could be moving the vehicle for loading or unloading or even for vehicle inspection purposes.
TO DRIVE OR NOT TO DRIVE
If an operator has found a defect/s on their vehicle, are they permitted to drive the vehicle to a place of repair without being issued a PG9 if they are stopped?
The operator can potentially run a risk of being issued a PG9 if they drive a vehicle with a defect to the place of repair. However, there is a delayed defect concession:
For roadside inspection, only under the following circumstances should a delayed prohibition be deviated (downgraded) to an inspection notice.
Where there is evidence that:
- The delayed defect/s occurred on the current day's journey (24-hour period).
- The vehicle was clear of defects at the beginning of the current journey (24-hour period), supported by a nil driver defect report.
- An in-service driver defect report, with recorded assessment (date and time) stating that the vehicle is safe to drive for the remaining current day's journey.
- There is evidence that the journey is directly to a place where the vehicle is to undergo repair for the delayed defect/s (eg defect report with evidence the vehicle is directly en route to the repair facility).
- That the vehicle is when encountered on direct route to a repair facility for delayed defect/s to be repaired.
It is important to note that this concession does not apply if any other prohibition defect is detected on the encounter other than what is described above, and it is the responsibility of the driver to provide sufficient evidence at the time of the roadside inspection for this concession to apply.
LACK OF EVIDENCE
Q. We have just had an audit carried out and were marked down as there was no evidence recorded in relation to monitoring our vehicles’ annual test pass rate. Why is this required?
A. Your test failure rate is one of the indicators used by DVSA to detect any possible problems with your maintenance procedures. They look at the reasons for failures and the severity of faults found. Persistent test failures will eventually lead to a visit from the enforcement authorities.
BEGINNER’S LOCK
Q. What happens if we get a second-hand or hired vehicle with a digital tachograph, where the previous company have forgotten to lock-out its data?
A. The fact that the previous user has forgotten to lock-out will not prevent you from protecting your own data, nor will it let you have access to their data (as long as they remembered to lock it in). All locking-out does is signify the end of an operator’s interest in the vehicle and the data held on the VU. It is the locking-in of data before use that is the most important action. If you fail to lock-in data before you use it in these circumstances, your data will only be able to be read by the previous company’s card.
MECHANIC RATIOS
Is there a recognised ratio of mechanics required for maintaining a fleet in house to satisfy O licence regulations, or is it just a case of providing proof that adequate maintenance is being provided?
There is no recognised ratio of mechanics required per number of O licence vehicles, as there are lots of variations to consider. These would include number of locations, use of external companies, fleet age and type etc. As you have highlighted, you need to provide evidence that there is a suitable maintenance procedure in place. You would also need to demonstrate you have competent staff.
If there were issues with failed MOTs or late safety inspections for example, it may suggest that there are not adequate facilities or staff in place to maintain your vehicles.
Guidance in relation to safety inspection and repair facilities can be found in section 5 of the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness.
The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness can be viewed here.
VTG PLATES
Our fleet is undergoing a replacement programme. On checking the new tractor units, we have noticed they do not have any VTG plates in the cab. Can we still use these units on the road, or do we have to wait for the plates to arrive?
Dealerships now tend to register new vehicles via the DVLA Register a Vehicle (RaV) service, and the Certificate of Conformity (CoC) is sent directly to DVSA. Therefore, the operator will not get part of it back to use as a “temporary plating certificate”. The vehicles can be used while waiting for the VTG Plates to arrive.
However, once the plates arrive, they must be fitted to the vehicles within 14 days. The legal requirement is laid down in Road Vehicles Construction and Use regulation 70. Goods vehicles cannot be tested without their VTG 6/7 documentation. If the documents have not arrived four months prior to the initial vehicle test date, you will need to contact DVSA for an urgent plate request. Please contact Logistics UK’s Member Advice Centre for details.
CRIMINAL MATTERS
We have recently had a member of staff pass their TM CPC and we are in the process of adding them to the licence. During the process, they advised that they had been convicted of a criminal offence and made to pay a fine as a result. Are they able to be added to the licence?
This will come down to the length of time that has passed since the member of staff was convicted. The Statutory Guidance document 1, Good Repute and Fitness, produced by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, contains a framework for a conviction to be deemed as spent, and a period of rehabilitation.
For convictions resulting in a fine, the rehabilitation period lasts for 12 months from the date of the relevant conviction.
Ultimately, it would be down to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner to decide on a case-by-case basis if there were any reasons for this to be reviewed in more detail.
POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
One of our drivers was caught speeding recently. At the time, they had nine points on their licence. However, by the time the case was heard in court several months later, six of those points had been removed due to them lapsing. The driver received three points, a large fine and a driving ban at court. Should they appeal as some of the points were no longer valid by the time it went to court?
Convictions for speeding must stay on the licence for four years from the date of the offence. As a result of this, the court will have based the information on the licence conditions at the time of the offence and worked from that point, instead of the position on the date of the appearance. If this had happened, it could have benefitted the driver in not receiving the penalty that was due at the time of the offence.
