A licence to cause confusion
Page 18
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by Patrick Hook • Last week's case involving the illegal use of Operator Licences by the quarry company ARC has drawn attention to widespread confusion surround ing the law on 0-licensing.
ARC pleaded guilty to foul offences under Section 60(1)(a) of the Transport Act 1968 of "aiding and abetting" ownerdrivers of having no 0-licence (CM 21-28 July).
Recognising the special circumstances of the case, the magistrates imposed fines on the company well below the maximum and gave absolute discharges to the four drivers concerned.
The court accepted that it was difficult to identify the "operator" of the vehicles in this case: the trucks were owner driven, but painted in ARC's livery and fitted with ARC concretemixing drums.
Additionally, ARC provided most of the work for the vehicles and gave instructions to the drivers concerning delivery. They regularly checked the owner-drivers' tacho charts, ensured that each vehicle was the subject of a maintenance contract and issued manuals on driver duties and health and safety matters.
Given these circumstances, the magistrates at Melton Mowbray, Leics took the view that while there had been a clear breach of the act, the company had not acted wilfully. This allowed the magistrates to impose a minimum fine.
The case shows that the sections in the act governing Operator Licences are recognised—even by the courts—as being immensely complicated. Administrative procedures necessary to obtain a licence are also daunting. Mick Binns of the National Owner Drivers Association says: "Life for owner-drivers trying to interpret 0-licensing law is not made easier by the long and involved application forms which must be completed to obtain the licence. Given ownerdrivers' lack of legal training, they are not in a position to understand the fine print."
Ian Rothera, a Nottingham-based solicitor who specialises in road traffic law, says: "The distinction between a legal and illegal act will often turn on a single word in an Act of Parliament and it is no surprise to me that even large companies will occasionally get the inter pretation of a section wrong. "The complexity in the law on 0-licensing means that even the courts have difficulty understanding it."