“Manifold and serious shortcomings” results in revocation

A director of a Hartlepool firm caught by the DVSA driving a 7.5-tonne truck without a digital tachograph, a Driver CPC or any load securing, has been disqualified indefinitely. Traffic Commissioner Nick Denton said Philip Burnside, director of PB Utility Services, had little regard for road safety or the law and he revoked the licence immediately following a virtual public inquiry.

A DVSA traffic examiner conducted a roadside check in November 2020 and found that Burnside’s vehicle, which was drawing a trailer, was not specified on the operator’s licence. In addition, it had no load securing of any kind, the trailer had no rear registration plate, one of its indicators was not working and a tyre had an inadequate rating for the load being carried. Further inquiries revealed that the company was not using its authorised operating centre either.

TC Denton called the company to a PI and he also called Burnside to a parallel hearing to consider his conduct as a driver. The director responded to the call-up letter saying he no longer needed an O-licence and wished to surrender it and he would not be attending the PI.

However, in his written decision, the TC said he was not accepting the licence surrender: “I have decided to revoke it with immediate effect, owing to the manifold and serious shortcomings and illegalities detected by DVSA at the vehicle stop,” he said. Denton added that Burnside could request a hearing before a TC if he wanted to argue that the disqualification be time-limited.