A. 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.
Show and tell
Q. We have recently had an audit and were marked down as the operator licence was not displayed on site and were told that it is a requirement to do so. Is this correct?
A. While there is not a legal requirement to display the paper operator’s licence, documents such as the licence and maintenance records must be available for inspection if requested. It may also be a requirement by external parties such as insurance companies or accreditation bodies.
Under Section 26 of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995, an examiner may require an operator to produce their licence for inspection. This must be done within 14 days of the request, and the licence must be made available either:
- At any operating centre covered by the licence, or
- At the operator’s head or principal place of business within the traffic area in which the operating centre lies.
This applies to both goods and public service vehicle (PSV) operators. For PSV operators, similar provisions exist under Section 66A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which also empowers examiners or authorised persons to request production of the licence or windscreen disc within 14 days.
