The traffic commissioners (TCs) are coming down hard on drivers who are abusive towards DVSA staff, with two recently banned from the industry.
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner said East of England TC Richard Turfitt banned one driver after he became aggressive and threatening towards a DVSA examiner.
He was stopped while using a vehicle without an O-licence disc, he couldn’t produce his driver CPC and he failed to use a tachograph. The driver/operator told the examiner he had no right to look at his paperwork, became aggressive and tore up the prohibition notice and fixed penalty.
He was disqualified until 2021 as a driver and for five years as an operator.
In another case, TC Nick Jones banned a driver until May 2020 and for five years as an operator after he became confrontational. A traffic examiner had been unable to complete a full assessment of the drivers’ hours system due to the individual’s volatile nature and when he didn’t agree with a defect, he became intimidating and aggressive.
Jones said commissioners would never tolerate these behaviours.
