Director ignored DVLA rules and continued driving
Director drove an HGV despite not holding Class C entitlements
Compliance News - Chris Tindall
July 11, 2023
A truck driver has won an appeal against the impounding of her vehicle after a tribunal found paperwork completed by the DVSA had been sent to the wrong chief constable.
Georgia Ash appealed against a decision made by the senior traffic commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt to refuse the return of her truck after he was not persuaded she actually owned the vehicle.
The truck was guided into Donnington Services from the M1 in September 2022 and DVSA officers found that the vehicle was loaded with household furniture.
Ash was found not to have a Driver CPC, the vehicle was not specified on any licence, and she was not using a tachograph. The truck was detained and so the driver applied for its return, claiming she had been driving it for personal use and not for hire or reward.
The appeal tribunal agreed that the senior TC was not provided with sufficient evidence the vehicle belonged to Ash. But it also said there had been an administrative error at the time of the impounding, in that the wrong police force was informed of the decision.
The chief constable of Derbyshire Police was served with the notice; however, Donnington Services falls within the county of Leicestershire.
Allowing the appeal, the tribunal added: “That does not mean that the vehicle will be returned to Ms Ash as she has not established on the balance of probabilities that she is the owner. She will have to do rather more than she has to date in order to show that the vehicle should be returned to her.”
