A Fife haulier who lost control of his business because he was “desperate” to meet customer demands has been suspended from operating HGVs.
Deputy traffic commissioner James Astle made the order following a public inquiry held in Edinburgh in December.
His decision, which was issued in writing after the hearing, means Gordon Hunter, of Lochgelly, will be prevented from operating his vehicles until April.
Mr Astle also told the sole trader, who operates from Burnside Works, Kinglassie, that his licence authority would be cut by one vehicle, after finding that his conduct as an operator had been “seriously remiss”.
The inquiry was called after an investigation by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) reported that one of Mr Hunter’s drivers had committed offences while operating vehicles.
He also identified other concerns about operations under the HGV licence.
In evidence during the hearing, the VOSA traffic examiner told Mr Astle that he found 29 instances of false driving records from his investigation, where information registered about the journey was not accurate or incomplete.
Drivers are required to keep records of their duties to show they have not exceeded the amount of hours they are legally allowed to work.
The VOSA officer also reported that one driver, John Duncan, had two driving cards in his name. Drivers are issued with a card to record their driving duty, but should only ever have one card and use it to record their own duties.
Mr Duncan, it transpired, had reported his card as “lost”, but then found it again. Both cards were subsequently used to record driving duty, including by Mr Hunter, which is an offence.
The examiner stated that where the card had been used before or after a full working day, the driver would have worked too many hours.
At the hearing, Gordon Hunter admitted the offences and said that he had not wanted to let his customers down.
During questioning, Mr Hunter told the deputy commissioner that there had been no further offences since the end of April 2011 and that he had “learned his lesson”.
The operator also said that his maintenance standards were exemplary.
After reserving his decision on the day, Mr Astle issued a written decision. The offences committed by the operator and two of his drivers were not, he found, part of a “methodical, systematic and planned campaign” to break the rules.
But he added: “The commission of such offences is clearly a matter relevant to his fitness to hold a licence.”
Summing up the case, Mr Astle ruled that he would not put Mr Hunter out of business completely. He had decided not to make a finding against his good repute because the evidence did not show there had been a calculated “campaign” to break the regulations.
Mr Astle made the order to suspend the licence for 60 days from midnight on January 31 and also ruled that Mr Hunter would be reduced to operating two vehicles from the same date.
Mr Hunter also gave a number of commitments to the deputy commissioner in respect of independent analysis for driver records, driver training and a new disciplinary procedure.
The operator’s former transport manager, Thomas Hamilton, was also called before the deputy commissioner, but did not attend the hearing. Mr Astle ruled that he had lost his repute and, therefore, would be disqualified indefinitely from acting as a transport manager in the UK and Europe.
Mr Astle additionally made decisions on the professional HGV driving licences held by the operator, John Duncan and another driver Debbie Beattie.
All three had their licences suspended for 30 days with effect from midnight on January 31.