Category: How to Stay Compliant with the Traffic Commissioner
5 Entirely Avoidable Mistakes Made by Too Many HGV Operators
We take a quick look at 5 of the most common, but entirely avoidable, mistakes made by far too many HGV operators. This list has been compiled by the transport lawyers at specialist road transport law firm Smith Bowyer Clarke: 1. Trusting Your Drivers Too Much In a […]
AdBlue Cheats Face Loss of Operator’s Licence
What is Adblue? You may well have seen containers of Adblue at service stations and wondered what they were for. When a diesel engine burns diesel, a number of polluting compounds and chemicals are emitted out of the exhaust pipe and into the atmosphere. Nitrogen Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are […]
The Dangers of Not Carrying Out Regular Driver Licence Checks
Be honest – how often do you check the licences of your drivers for any endorsements? Once every 6 months? Once a year? Never? Whether you are a goods or PSV operator, if the answer to any of the above is “yes”, you are running a very big risk. […]
The Risks of Running a Restricted Operator’s Licence – How to Preserve your Licence and Protect your Business
You might think Restricted Licences are pretty cool: They allow you to operate with half the financial standing of a Standard National Licence and you are not put to the expense and bother of employing a Transport Manager. What’s not to like? Actually, quite a lot. The Traffic Commissioner […]
ADR and Dangerous Loads – 5 Quick and Easy Ways to Fall Foul of the Rules
What is ADR? ADR (Accord Dangereux Routier) is the European Agreement which sets out the rules governing the movement by road of dangerous goods throughout the EU. They are very strict and exist to protect the public, drivers and the environment from the harmful effect of dangerous substances. It’s […]
Tachograph Offences – An all too Common Nightmare Scenario
Consider the following scenario: You are the operator of a small general haulage business running 6 trucks. So far business has been good to you. You employ 10 drivers and hope to increase to 8 trucks within a year or so. You are your own Transport Manager, but […]
GOOD REPUTE 2 – Other Behaviour which can Damage your Repute (Freight)
“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Benjamin Franklin There are a thousand ways to damage your Good Repute, and Operators are discovering new ones all the time. We have already looked at what “Good […]
Roadside Stops can Stop Your Business in its Tracks: Prohibitions, PG9s and the DVSA
Having one of your vehicles stopped by the DVSA can be a headache for any operator. Even if your vehicle and driver are given a clean bill of health, the stop itself will usually mean a delay to your daily work schedule. If the stopping officer does uncover infringements during […]
Vehicle Overloading Offences
Overloading offences are taken very seriously in the eyes of the law. Both a driver and his or her employer can be prosecuted and substantial fines can be imposed by the criminal courts for each offence of exceeding an individual axle weight or the maximum permitted gross weight of […]
GOOD REPUTE 1 – Criminal Convictions and Good Repute (Freight)
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ’twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. Othello, Act 3 Scene 3 In rough terms […]
