Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney has warned an operator it must ensure a replacement transport manager is in place, or it could face losing its licence
A South West company has had its licence curtailed and been given a period of grace to find a new transport manager following a loss of professional competence. The operator, Arleen Coach Hire & Services Ltd, holds a standard international public service vehicle operator’s licence authorising the use of 24 vehicles from an operating centre near Bath, and a smaller satellite site in Glastonbury. The licence started in April 1992, and the directors are M K Spiller, Alan Spiller, Carol Spiller, Justin Spiller and Kristian Spiller. The transport manager was Justin Spiller.
One of the company’s vehicles overturned when transporting school staff and students on 28 November 2022. The collision, which was the subject of a police investigation that ended in three directors and a staff member being acquitted of a charge of using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, was not the subject of this public inquiry, but it did serve to bring the operator to the attention of DVSA.
A DVSA traffic compliance investigation in January 2023 by Traffic Examiner (TE) Richard Francis found a number of shortcomings, including no induction document for new starters, no full records of CRB checks, with the last licence and CPC check carried out in April 2022, some driver cards downloaded at periods in excess of 28 days, no evidence of disciplinary procedures or infringement reporting, although TruTac was used for analysis, and some drivers not providing manual entries for rest periods and one driver not taking enough weekly rest.
Additionally, DVSA Vehicle Examiner (VE) Mike Lailey carried out a maintenance investigation on 10 July 2023, and identified some concerns, including that an operating centre in Glastonbury was being used without authority, there was no evidence of control from the transport manager, poor recording of defects on inspection sheets, an inspection facility which provided no room to work on a vehicle’s nearside due to proximity of a wall, and a poor test history.
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