Traffic commissioner (TC) for the South East Nick Denton has issued Lloyd Fraser with a formal warning, after an investigation into driver card discrepancies at the company.
At a public inquiry held in Eastbourne earlier this month, Denton was told how there had been a failure by the Rugby-based tanker and general haulier to compare the vehicle unit with the driver card data. This resulted in significant instances of driving without a card inserted going undetected.
On occasions, drivers had driven for more than 4.5 hours without a break and/or failed to take a minimum rest. Denton also heard how the eight-weekly safety inspection period had occasionally been breached, and that there were missing details on driver defect report sheets.
However, the TC said that the haulage company had made a concerted effort to address the issues well before the public inquiry with drivers’ rates of infringements now at a low level; that there were no incidents of driving long hours without a card being inserted; and that the company had an excellent MoT pass rate, as well as a very low prohibition rate.
The TC commented that the company was now “generally compliant” and that he “could trust it to remain compliant” .
An undertaking was recorded on Lloyd Fraser’s O-licence that an independent audit of its maintenance and drivers’ hours systems, and their effectiveness, be carried out by 31 January 2015.
. This article first appeared in the 31 July edition of Commercial Motor. Why not subscribe?
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