A haulier and transport manager that demonstrated “poor in the extreme” knowledge of drivers’ hours and tachograph compliance is to lose his O-licence next month.
West Midlands traffic commissioner (TC) Nick Denton also banned Paul Garner from acting as a transport manager for six months, following several convictions for drivers’ hours offences.
Garner was fined £5,390 for seven offences of driving for more than four and a half hours without a break.
The disqualification and O-licence revocation will come into effect on 3 February.
Garner told a public inquiry last month that he had entered into an arrangement with Stourbridge-based ATP Transport after securing a contract with Tuffnells Parcels Express.
Garner provided the drivers to ATP, which would invoice Tuffnells. ATP Transport would then pass on the payment to Garner after making deductions for vehicle hire, cleaning, fuel and providing an O-licence.
The TC said Garner had made no arrangements for himself or ATP to download tachograph cards until September 2016, despite securing the contract in early 2015. He had also failed to get hold of a company tachograph card until last month.
It also emerged that a truck was operated for 10 months in 2012/13 without any equipment to download driver cards or vehicle tachograph data.
Denton said: “Mr Garner’s knowledge of tachograph rules and of the procedures for ensuring compliance is poor in the extreme and not what I would expect from a reputable transport manager.
“I accept that he entered into wrongful arrangements with ATP more out of ignorance and incompetence than with a deliberate intent to deceive. But his lapses were nevertheless significant and warrant a meaningful period of disqualification from acting as a transport manager.”