Licence curtailed for ‘loaning’ out drivers
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By Roger Brown
OPERATIONS AT DEVON haulier Langdon Transport became blurred after an informal arrangement to loan drivers to two subcontractors, according to Western Deputy Trafic Commissioner (DTC) Fiona Harrington.
In her written decision following an August public inquiry, the DTC curtailed the Plymouth company’s O-licence from 20 vehicles and 20 trailers to 15 vehicles and 15 trailers for a week, but added that she believed its agreements with Pallets (South West) and Express Delivery Services had not been a ruse to enable it to operate more vehicles beyond its authorisation.
In March 2010, VOSA Trafic Examiner (TE) Rita Edmonds examined a vehicle during a roadside check, displaying an O-licence disc from Express Delivery Services. She discovered that although Express Delivery Services was issuing instructions to the driver, Langdon Transport was his employer.
Langdon Transport told the DTC it had loaned the driver to Express Delivery Services – run by Brian Barclay, former transport manager at Langdon. It added that it had loaned two drivers to another subcontractor, Pallets (South West), as it had a strong relationship with its boss, Mark Harrad.
Edmonds said a proper assessment of vehicle usage at the three irms was impossible because of missing and misiled records. However, she accepted that some of the problems lay with an outside tachograph analysis company that Langdon Transport had employed.
The DTC said: “The close personal and business relationships of the principals in each company led to informal arrangements and practices in relation to their respective transport operations, which have blurred the lines of responsibility to a concerning extent.”