Discipline is all above board...
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The Licensing Review Board wili make recommendations to the Traffic Commissioner about disciplinary action. Appointments to the board are dealt with by the clerk to the Traffic Commissioner. They will include representatives from the enforcement agencies, such as Vehicle Inspectorate operatives who will deal with roadworthiness, road traffic and tachograph offences. Executive officers from the Area Traffic Office will also be members.
The role of the Licensing Review Board is to collate information from all sources and decide which matters can be dealt with by the board, and which cases are serious enough to warrant referral to the Traffic Commissioner for consideration of disciplinary action. Disciplinary action is usually by public inquiry.
The Licensing Review Board is a powerful group of Traffic Area staff. They are, knowingly or not, setting the standards that operators must aspire to. Gone are the days when operators would only go to public inquiry in exceptional cases.
Before the Licence Review Board was set up prohibition details contained multiple defects of a very serious nature. Now the standard has been raised: operators must be aware that every defect is serious if endorsed on a prohibition form, and even more so when marked "S", indicating poor maintenance.
The drivers' hours standard of compliance has also been raised. Public inquiries are being called for minor technical infringements, such as failing to enter the driver's full name in the centre field of the tachograph chart.
Tachograph checks by the operator must ensure that speed limiters are fitted and are working correctly. If the vehicle is used after the defect occurs then an offence is likely to have been committed.
The Licensing Review Board can use its direct link with the DVLA in Swansea to check if the authorised vehicles are currently taxed or have been used without a current vehicle excise disc.
The Transport Tribunal has decided that if an operator deliberately fails to pay vehicle excise duty repeatedly he can expect his licence to be revoked.
Look at the application form and check that you are operating your fleet in compliance with the undertakings given— and make sure that all changes have been notified to the Traffic Area Office.