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Traffic Commissioners: enforcers of the law
Page 27
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Everyone who wants to run large goods vehicles for hire and reward must have to have an Operator's Licence. This licence is subject to 7egulatory controls, and those controls are !nforced by the Traffic L'ommissioner in whose area :he 0-licence is held.
A TC can take a range of steps igainst a licence, but the operator has the right to demand to have h is case heard at a Public Inquiry. In fact such an inquiry is generally called by a TC who has decided that some form of disciplinary action may be in order.
In either case, the Public Inquiry is by far the operator's best opportunity to put forward his case. There is an appeal process to the Transport Tribunal, but fresh evidence to boost the operator's case is not allowed.
Like courts and tribunals. the TCs generally have some sentencing guidelines to ensure uniformity in penalties throughout the UK's various Traffic Areas. These are issued by the Senior TCs following consultation with the TCs themselves.
An operator who has just had his 0-licence revoked, suspended or curtailed may find this hard to believe, but the TCs' role is not to inflict punishments—that is the job of the criminal courts. The TCs are there to protect the public against the dangers resulting from an operator's failure to follow the rules.
However, the TC may impose a penalty that is designed to deter other operators from breaking the rules. In some ways operators are regulated like the lawyers they rely on to defend them. If a lawyer commits a criminal offence he will be dealt with by the courts but might also be referred to the Law Society, which has a range of disciplinary powers including the right to stop the lawyer practising.
If a TC is convinced that an operator represents a serious risk to public safety he can revoke his 0-licence and eflectiveLv close the firm down.
The Senior TCs' guidelines are designed to ensure that such extreme measures are applied consistently throughout the UK.