Earlier this month, the Traffic Commissioners (“TCs”) released their Annual Report to the Secretary of State for the year ending 31 March 2024 (“the Report”). The Report is, usually, released in July each year. This year’s Report was delayed by the General Election, but it is unclear why it has taken until as late as October for the Report to find its way into the public domain.

Foreword

The Report opens with a foreword from Senior Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt (“STC”), in which he reiterates that the TCs “are primarily a road safety tribunal” and that their “jurisdiction is too important to be allowed to fail”. He goes on to recognise the vital “combination of legal and practical knowledge” that the TCs and the OTC staff bring to their roles, but highlights that “all too often, the requirements of the tribunal are an after-thought, even by those who support us” and that it has “reached a stage where there needs to be a long-term commitment to our future and a vision for its legal structure”.

A recurring theme throughout the Report is the challenges around recruitment and retention of both OTC staff and TCs. The Report refers to the loss of 26 OTC staff since April 2023 and the departures of Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Claire Gilmore, after just 5 years in post, and Traffic Commissioner for the North-West of England, Gerallt Evans, after just 4 years in post. JMW’s Commercial Road Transport team had the pleasure of appearing at hearings before both departing TCs during their tenure and they both brought significant experience and expertise to the Traffic Commissioner role – contributions that the STC confirms will be sorely missed by the TCs and wider industry. 

The STC poses the question of why the Department for Transport has been unable to retain TCs beyond 4 or 5 years and goes on to refer to “heavy workloads”, “abuse” (both physical incidents and online abuse) during the reporting period and the need, ultimately, for the TCs and OTC staff to “feel safe in conducting official duties”.

Strategic Objectives

Turning to the TCs’ performance against their strategic objectives, the STC provides “a frank and honest analysis of the challenges facing the jurisdiction” which have hampered the progress of projects such as the OTC restructure and the move to a digital case management system for public inquiries.

Common Themes

In the Report, the TCs have identified common themes arising across all eight traffic areas which may assist operators in avoiding regulatory action and have included links to real cases to illustrate the issues consistently seen at public inquiry.

1. Transport Manager CPC

The TCs confirm they have seen a number of cases where Transport Managers have failed in their duties and highlight that “there is a difference between obtaining a paper qualification and the ability to actually exercise effective and continuous management of a transport operation”. They go on to state that they would like to see a review of the Transport Manager CPC. 

2. Driver Engagement

The Report confirms that the TCs have continued to encounter operators who are “unable to properly control their drivers due to the way they choose to engage them” and provides a reminder of the position regarding the use of ‘self-employed’ drivers and ‘sham’ driver agency arrangements. You can read more about the issues regarding driver engagement in our previous blog: Drivers – How Do You Engage Yours? - JMW Solicitors.

3. Brake Testing

The TCs state that “Operators should be aware of the changes to the DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness from April 2025 in that a laden roller brake test or electronic braking performance monitoring system (“EBPMS”) will be the only accepted method to assess brake performance”.

4. Drivers’ Hours

The TCs have seen an increasing number of cases involving serious drivers’ hours non-compliance, including driving without a card, driving using another driver’s card and altering tachograph records, and they express their view that non-compliance with drivers’ hours rules is normally the “tip of the iceberg”.

5. Periods of Grace

The TCs report their concerns about the misunderstanding of many operators as to what periods of grace are and how to use them. You can read more about the issues surrounding periods of grace in our previous blog: Periods of Grace – The Unintended Consequences - JMW Solicitors. The STC has also issued some guidance (‘Periods of Grace’ – Don’t leave it too late - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) on what periods of grace are and how to obtain them.

6. Fraudulent activity, dishonesty and licence lending/fronting

The TCs make it very clear that, whilst they hear a relatively small number of cases each year which involve fraudulent activity or dishonesty, “trust is one of the foundation stones of operator licensing” and, in those few cases of this nature, they will take “robust deterrent action” and send a message to others that they will not tolerate operators who undermine the level playing field. Equally serious, they say, are cases where an operator lends their licence authority to another person, sometimes called ‘fronting’.

Statistics

As usual, the Report includes statistics recording the work undertaken by TCs during the reporting year. Some of the headlines include:

Licensing Work

• 66,821 valid goods vehicle Operator’s Licences
• 373,318 goods vehicles authorised
• 5,451 valid public service vehicle Operator’s Licences
• 88,664 passenger vehicles authorised
• 11,383 Operator’s Licence applications and variations determined
• 11,332 local bus registrations processed

Regulatory Work

• 1,283 public inquiries determined:
• HGV
• 842 public inquiries for non-compliance
• 261 (31%) revocations
• 79 (9%) suspensions
• 259 (31%) curtailments or conditions imposed
• 70 (8%) operator disqualifications
• 108 (13%) Transport Manager disqualifications
• 46 (5%) no action taken
• PSV
• 128 public inquiries for non-compliance
• 40 (31%) revocations
• 9 (7%) suspensions
• 39 (30%) reductions of vehicle numbers
• 9 (7%) operator disqualifications
• 22 (17%) Transport Manager disqualifications
• 15 (12%) no action taken
• 156 preliminary hearings held
• 41 Senior Team Leader meetings held
• 15,584 vocational driver conduct cases closed

You can read the full Report here: Traffic_Commissioners_Annual_Report_2023-24.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)