No reprieve for operator with poor maintenance record

A company with a licence for 25 buses was found to have a high MOT failure rate and poor defect recording systems, and was denied a period of grace to comply

Western Area Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney disqualified an operator of school buses in late January following findings of poor maintenance and defect recording. Based in Royal Wootton Bassett, Denwell Mini Coaches Ltd was the holder of a standard national PSV operator’s licence authorising the use of 25 vehicles. The licence started in June 2000, and the business changed ownership in August 2021. The sole director and transport manager since that time was Darren Brown. Despite the name, vehicles operated were full-size coaches and some double-deckers.

The operator was the subject of a DVSA maintenance investigation in August 2022 which found systems to be unsatisfactory; the operator gave assurances of improvement and those were accepted by the Vehicle Examiner. However, a follow-up investigation between July and September 2023 found that the situation was worse than that a year earlier and the assurances given had not been adhered to.

Vehicle Examiner Gary Beck noted that the MOT failure rate had worsened from 31.5% in 2022 to 45.95% in 2023. Twelve encounters resulted in nine prohibitions, a 75% prohibition rate. Even when the outcome was clear, there were multiple advisory defects such as cracked windscreens and oil leaks,

and the last entirely clear inspection was in July 2019, two years before Mr Brown acquired the business. The operator was therefore called to public inquiry (PI) to consider matters relating to its good repute, financial standing and professional competence. Mr Brown was called separately to consider his good repute and professional competence as transport manager.

The inquiry

Darren Brown and Philip Blanchard attended the inquiry represented by Anna Chestnutt of counsel instructed by Markel Law. Compliance documents were provided in advance along with written submissions; all were provided late. Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Councils were in attendance. Finances were considered in private.

The TC set out his concern that the assurances that were given in 2022 appeared not to have been honoured. Ms Chestnutt offered an undertaking to reduce inspection periods from every 10 weeks to every six. Mr Blanchard said he had joined the company from Calne Travel following the closure of that operator. He had brought with him a colleague, Colin Carey. Initially they had joined to focus on pre-MOT inspections but that remit had widened to all maintenance, apart from three double-deckers that would not fit in the workshop, which would be inspected by Swanbrook.

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Mr Brown passed his CPC in 1999. Denwell Mini Coaches had been a competitor and had been offered to him as a retirement sale. He wanted to consolidate with Minibus Direct Ltd, which was coming to a natural end in September 2023. Fifteen vehicles were in operation for a PVR of 15. Denwell had a poor breakdown record and he had wanted to remedy that, but said he hadn’t realised how bad it was at the time.

Denwell operated home to school contracts for Wiltshire Council and some commercial home to school services. Swanbrook had been dealing with all of the maintenance until 2021 when Denwell was purchased. It was then brought in-house. He said he believed that was satisfactory at the time but had since identified issues with the paperwork and the qualification of the fitters.

Staff issues

Paperwork issues were highlighted after the first DVSA visit and Mr Brown brought back the former workshop manager, Tony Berry, who was tasked with sorting out the paperwork and inspection schedules. He hadn’t been aware that Mr Berry had been to public inquiry in 2019; once that became apparent, he was removed from the post and became a driver before resigning.

It was said that there were not enough staff. One mechanic was let go due to poor workmanship and it was hard to find new ones, especially with a PCV licence. Steve Hall, the workshop manager, had made mistakes but was under a lot of pressure, it was suggested.

Defects which led to prohibitions issued at the fleet check were corrected that day, the operator said. The example of BX09 LME was given: the driver had reported nil defects, but it picked up prohibitions for horn and tyre faults.

Mr Brown said he had been in touch with a training company and would be looking at training in the future. As transport manager, it had been a very steep learning curve, he said, but refresher courses had provided clarification. Whenever something had come up, a process had been put in place to address it, he said, adding that he felt let down by staff who had previously been with Denwell.

Ms Chestnutt said that Mr Brown would be willing to appoint another transport manager.

Further decline

It was said that the garage side had got worse following the involvement of Tony Berry. Mr Brown said he had been let down by his managers; he thought that the people he had put there would do their job.

He stated that when he took over the company it was quite overwhelming, and that there had been ‘serious fraud and corruption.’ The TC asked why six out of 23 inspections had no brake performance testing and why the company relied on a decelerometer even when testing the brake performance on full-size coaches. Mr Brown said he hadn’t been aware that he needed to do roller brake tests.

17% of inspections were found to have been late, and the same number showed dangerous defects. 48% were not fully compliant. 26% had no brake performance assessment. The TC referred to a photograph of a tyre which had been recut too deep, exposing the cords. Mr Brown said that it had just passed an MOT in that conditionand that the tyre was otherwise in ‘reasonable’ shape. He ‘imagined’ that the tyre was recut in house but had not investigated who had done it.

Talking about the MOT fail rate, the TC heard that from October, of eight vehicles tested, eight had passed. However, the TC referred to an inspection of CN54 HFJ on 9 November 2023, which found an emergency door handle and catch rod broken, emergency hammers needing remounting, boot catches not catching, an incomplete first aid kit, and the windscreen washer not hitting the screen. Mr Brown said it was an old coach; most of the fleet was old.

He had bought six coaches in the last 18 months. He had asked Mr Blanchard to be aggressive in his inspections but there had been no brake assessment.

Records for SHZ 5734 recorded eight defects including a broken seat belt. Explaining why the inspection period was still at ten weeks, the TC was told this was due to a lack of staff.

The TC expressed ongoing concern, including over one coach which had been presented for MOT with an insecure brake calliper and with a bolt missing from the prop-shaft flange. Mr Brown stated that the mechanics should have not sent it like that, but the TC said he did not seem to understand that the vehicle must previously have been in service with those dangerous defects.

In another report, it was found that JFZ 7023 had multiple serious defects including tyres with insufficient load carrying capacity, seat belt faults and insecure seats, a loose wheel arch, loose emergency door steps, an out of date fire extinguisher, defective wiper blades and windscreen washers, plus a defective gearbox mounting, exhaust tailpipe and anti-roll bar bushes. The TC heard that this was when Colin, the new mechanic had arrived, and that he had done a thorough inspection.

Further submissions

Martin Watson of Wiltshire Council oversaw school transport in North Wiltshire, covering around 2,000 children. He said that there was a supply and demand issue across north Wiltshire; drivers were already double-running with children arriving late. The issue had been exacerbated by the loss of Calne Travel. If another operator was lost, there was no contingency, he said, and operators would have to be brought in from way outside the county.

It was said that any suspension of the licence would be untenable for the business. However, Mr Brown understood the dim view that was being taken of his licence continuing. It was argued that there were ‘green shoots’ and that when things are badly wrong, it takes time to identify the problems and put in solutions.

It was contended that Mr Brown had rooted out individuals who were not conducting themselves or their repairs safely, which demonstrated that he took responsibility. Mr Blanchard was said to be very competent and had worked for a renowned operator. It was suggested that the licence could continue with stringent controls such as an audit after six months.

TC’s findings

The TC set the fact that the MOT failure rate had deteriorated from 31.5% to 45.95% against the national failure rate for PSV operators, which stands at 7.35%. TC Rooney said that Mr Brown assertion that since October there had been eight tests with eight passes was not true. His report recorded six tests since October, with more assumed to have taken place since it was printed on 13 December. Of the six, JFZ 7023 failed on 9 October for headlamp aim. “From the public record, I can see that it failed for only one headlamp which means that not even the most basic check – that both headlamps are pointing the same way, could have been carried out effectively. I note that it had to be re-presented two days later so it would seem that the adjustment mechanism was seized or otherwise failed,” the TC noted.

JFZ 7013 passed on 30 October but with advisory defects for an engine malfunction indicator lamp and an oil leak from the differential seal. FJ08 KLX failed on 29 October for lamps and had an advisory for a chipped windscreen. On 10 November 2023, FB54 MTB passed but with advisories for corrosion in the rear suspension, corrosion in the engine subframe and an oil leak. CN54 HFJ passed on 15 November with an advisory for brake disc condition on the rear axle.

The TC pointed out that these tests were all conducted under the new regime with Mr Blanchard and Mr Carey undertaking ‘aggressive’ inspections and documenting every defect. The pre-MOT inspection of CN54 HFJ, dated the same day as the test, failed to record any concern with the rear discs, which TC Rooney suggested called into question Mr Carey’s competence and judgement.

The TC agreed that that there had been ‘an improvement of sorts’ in the MOT final fail rate but was still alarmed at the number and nature of the advisories. This, he said, supported his findings in relation to financial standing in showing that there did not seem to be the money to get the vehicles to the correct standard consistently.

“In any case, the previous history cannot be ignored and I have no hesitation in finding that vehicles are not kept fit and serviceable,” he concluded. In addition, Mr Brown said that drivers were not recording defects but the TC found it hard to believe that so many professional drivers would choose not to report such dangerous matters as had gone unrecorded, and suggested that they do not do so because the chance of anything being done about them was quite low. The TC attached significant weight to this finding.

Good repute?

Considering the question of the good repute of the transport manager, the TC said that it required the ability to manage a transport operation continuously and effectively and with a fortitude for compliance. Darren Brown had grown the size of his operation rapidly and in doing so had delegated his responsibilities. The performance of those staff to whom he had delegated was poor, which showed a clear lack of supervision. Speaking about the MOT failure rate, the TC said that Mr Blanchard’s first time pass rate was at best, 75%, though added that he would not necessarily criticise Mr Blanchard for that given the condition of the vehicles he inherited and the failure defects.

DVSA’s Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness is clear that operational needs must not override safety considerations and advises that vehicles over 12 years old would normally be inspected every six weeks. The TC sensed apathy towards compliance, perhaps in the knowledge that the Council could not easily take a contract away.

Looking for positives, the TC noted that Mr Brown had attended refresher training and employed some new maintenance staff. He had identified a training provider for his drivers. He had invested in representation for the PI.

However, he found that two matters tipped the scales against Mr Brown; his insistence on blaming others for his own misfortunes and the fact that the operation actually became significantly worse following the first DVSA investigation, with assurances given not delivered. The TC had little choice but to find that Darren Brown had lost his good repute as transport manager.

The TC dismissed the suggestion that Mr Brown would be willing to appoint another transport manager, as none seemed to be waiting to step in, thus in effect a period of grace to operate without professional competence was being sought, which was not appropriate.

Decisions

Darren Brown’s good repute as transport manager was lost and he was disqualified from acting as such for a period of one year from 31 March 2024 and until he sits and passes again his transport manager certificate of professional competence. As a result of the maintenance failings and lack of financial standing and professional competence. the licence, number PH0007020, was revoked.

Noting the lead times for Wiltshire Council and relying on the spotlight created by the public inquiry process to generate sufficient compliance to keep vehicles safe for a short period following the decision, which was published on 23 January, the revocation was set to take effect from 2329hrs on 31 March.

Sudden closure

Subsequent news reports from the BBC showed that Denwell appeared to have ceased operating with immediate effect. A recorded answerphone message said: “Due to schools giving out information claiming that we are not continuing to operate and creating a social media frenzy that has followed, our school routes have become inoperable with immediate effect. Due to the unacceptable abuse levelled at our staff on Friday we have taken the decision to deal with customer enquiries by email only.”

Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport, councillor Caroline Thomas said that affected schools in Royal Wootton Bassett and Purton had been contacted. She told the BBC: “The company’s licence to operate will terminate on 31 March, which gives us some time to find alternative travel arrangements, and our officers are working hard to secure travel from 1 April for these students.

“There had been concerns about the maintenance of Denwell Coaches’ vehicles, but the Commissioner is satisfied that the remedial measures put in place will keep the vehicles safe for a short period of time, which explains why the licence hasn’t been immediately terminated.” //

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