

An Ashbourne operator whose vehicle and trailer were pulled over by the DVSA and found to be in an “awful” state, has had its licence revoked and been disqualified.
AZ Haulage sole director and transport manager Zeeshan Ali was also told by a traffic commissioner that HM Revenue & Customs would probably investigate why he thought he could continue working “for a couple of hours” each week, despite the fact he was furloughed.
Ali appeared at a Golborne public inquiry before Deputy TC Simon Evans after his lorry was pulled over twice in two months. On both occasions his vehicle attracted S-marked prohibitions, with multiple defects found on his trailer and two on his tractor unit. On the first encounter with the DVSA, his insecure load and defective tyre also led to fixed penalties being issued. Ali’s vehicle subsequently attracted a further pair of immediate prohibitions a few months later for a deep tyre cut with cords exposed and another tyre with the tread below the legal limit.
A DVSA desk-based assessment was marked unsatisfactory and the operator had produced none of the records requested. In the documents produced to the DTC at the PI, missing mileage was also identified and Ali admitted that a period of continuous driving without a break had occurred. He also admitted to not keeping his lorry at the nominated operating centre.
During the PI, Ali told DTC Evans he had now employed a driver and that he had ceased driving himself. He also said he had been furloughed between May to August, but although he was not physically involved in the business, he could carry out the necessary work within two hours. The director admitted there had been mistakes in his choice of trailer supplier and that he had failed to carry out checks to ensure loads were secured, but that he was now “getting a bit more professional”.
But in a written decision, Evans said: “Road safety had been seriously compromised on three occasions with sixteen prohibitable items being detected.” He found that Ali’s repute had been lost and revoked the company’s licence. He also disqualified him from acting as a director for 18 months and as a transport manager for 12 months.