Transport Manager Retains Good Repute by Skin of Teeth at Traffic Commissioner’s Public Inquiry
The transport manager in this matter, represented at Public Inquiry by Barrister, Harry Bowyer, was somewhat “old school” and had agreed to be the transport manager on a friend’s licence. There was no formal contract and no regular payment. The “friend” decided that he would like to take over as Transport Manager on the licence and our TM assumed that the friend would notify the Office of the Traffic Commissioner of the change and did not notify the OTC himself as he should have done. When the DVSA came to call for a Desk Based Assessment he happily announced that he was no longer in position and had not been for some months which came as a surprise to the Traffic Examiner. All parties were called in.
This had serious implications for our man as he had his own operator’s licence. He was plainly at risk of losing his good repute as Transport Manager which may well have meant that he would lose his good repute as director. The Deputy Traffic Commissioner was referred to Alastair Walter T/2017/55 where the Upper Tribunal doubted whether good repute was divisible qua operator and transport manager.
When the music stopped the Deputy Traffic Commissioner was persuaded that the Transport Manager was just this side of losing his good repute and could keep his good repute which was now “severely tarnished.”
Case Details
Case Name: Transport Manager Retains Good Repute by Skin of Teeth at Traffic Commissioner’s Public InquiryCase Date: October 2022
Case Type (info): Public Inquiry