An Ipswich operator that displayed “the worst case of operator ignorance” that a vehicle examiner had ever witnessed, has had its licence revoked.
A.D.A Haulage and sole director Ionut-Alexandru Covaci appeared before deputy traffic commissioner Miles Dorrington via video link following a DVSA investigation into the firm.
This found that the operator, which held a licence for one lorry, was using an unauthorised operating centre for a significant period of time.
Road safety critical defects were also found and were present when the HGV was in operation, which compromised road safety, according to the DTC.
ANPR evidence showed that the vehicle was being operated laden with many defects, including an S-marked prohibition, a situation Dorrington described as “truly shocking” because it showed it was being used in contravention of the prohibition and also when it was unroadworthy.
In addition, A.D.A Haulage was being run without a transport manager for many months and no request for a period of grace had been made.
The DTC noted that once a transport manager was appointed then improvements were made, but even taking that into account he concluded the case fell into “severe” category.
He stepped back from disqualifying Covaci, but he concluded: “I simply cannot trust him given what has happened before.
“It is therefore a mandatory requirement that I revoke this operator’s licence.”
