Recovery work licence exemption under PI spotlight

An operator in Enfield that argued its vehicle recovery work was exempt from requiring an O-licence has had its authorisation cut to five vehicles.

Recovery NLR, which holds a standard international licence for seven HGVs, told deputy traffic commissioner John Baker that disabled vehicles had been recovered from the roadside, garages where they had been taken for repair or on occasions from a customer’s home.

As a result, the operator believed the recovery trucks used for this work and later found by the DVSA to not be specified on its licence were exempt from the regulations.

A follow-up maintenance investigation into the operator also highlighted a number of concerns, including PMI intervals exceeded on occasions, severity of defects not always clearly annotated, driver detectable faults found at PMI and an S-marked prohibition.

At an Eastbourne public inquiry, the issue of whether the recovery work was exempt was discussed.

Company director Eren Dasdemir and operations manager Eldem Sakir admitted that they had been unsure and confused whether an exemption applied or not, after former transport manager John Potgieter advised the operator to increase its authorisation to 15 vehicles after the DVSA raised concerns.

Deputy TC Baker said each case was fact specific, but that he could envisage situations where recovery of a vehicle from an owner’s home would be within the exemption.

He stressed that this observation should not be used as authority in future cases and it was for operators to check the law for themselves.

However, he also pointed out that there had been no checks to see if any HGV delivering a disabled vehicle had carried a ‘non-disabled’ vehicle on the return journey.

Baker said: “My conclusion is that some of the journeys undertaken by vehicles that were not named on the operator’s licence were exempt journeys and some others were not.

“The balance between those two options is impossible to define without much more detailed analysis.”

“My view and finding however, is that this operator should have been more cautious and measured before using the additional vehicles when unsure whether it was legal to do so.”

Despite the level of seriousness, the DTC drew back from revoking the licence and opted for curtailment to five vehicles for three weeks.

He accepted Potgieter had identified failings and concluded his repute was tarnished but not lost.