[2025] UKUT 328 (AAC)

The principal concern of the Appellants’ grounds of appeal to the Upper Tribunal relates to the Traffic Commissioner’s maintenance findings, which were as follows:

“21…

- Safety inspections are declared to be at six-weekly intervals. In total, only seven vehicle and two trailer safety inspection reports were made available for four vehicles and an unknown number of trailers over a fifteen-month period. There is a suggestion that they were carried out, but the maintenance provider would not provide the documentation. That has not been evidenced. In any case, equipment should not re-enter service until the transport manager or responsible person has had sight of the declaration of roadworthiness. Section 26(1)(e) [of the 1995 Act] is made out. Given the paucity of inspections evidenced and the resultant poor state of the fleet, I attach considerable weight.

- There is evidence that drivers are not recording defects as they are required to do. Forty-four percent of safety inspections included driver reportable defects. As recently as October 2024, a vehicle was presented for a safety inspection with three tyres measured at 0mm tread depth. Only 14 driver defect reports were made available by the operator for four vehicles over a 15-month period.

- The MOT failure rate is extremely poor. Of seventeen tests, eight have failed at first presentation, a failure rate of 47% against a national average of 8.48%. Vehicles have clearly not been kept fit and serviceable.

- Two prohibitions have been issued to authorised vehicles. Section 26(1)(c)(iii) is made out…

22.

There are many other major shortcomings identified in the maintenance report such as inspection reports incorrectly completed. The shortest gap between safety inspections is 102 days, meaning it was 60 days late. There was no load security policy or training, no effective wheel and tyre management, no management of emissions systems. I would set them out in detail, but normally serious matters seem quite insignificant against the findings I have already made.”

The Traffic Commissioner also found in paragraph 21 of his reasons that:

vehicle excise tax for four vehicles expired on 31 January 2024. Thereafter all four vehicles were in “regular use” yet the tax remained due at the date of DVSA’s visit to the operator on 23 August 2024;

one vehicle’s MOT expired on 30 June 2024. Thereafter, the vehicle remained in “regular use” yet the vehicle had still not had its MOT examination at the date of DVSA’s visit to the operator on 23 August 2024;