Traffic Commissioners Annual Report 2023-24: points of interest and key statistics for the transport industry

This week’s publication of the Traffic Commissioners Annual Report 2023-24 starts by reporting that the past year has seen a return to ‘normal’ following the Covid-19 pandemic, although the report acknowledges that economic factors and skill requirements continue to be a challenge.

Points of interest highlighted in the report as common themes seen at public inquiries and hearings include:

Transport Managers CPC and training: It is important that Transport Managers undertake up-to-date training, in particular as their role requires them to understand the technical readout they receive from tachographs and PMI’s, as well as a driver’s employment status. There is no doubt that a Transport Manager’s role has changed given the technology and ways of working changing over the years. Staying up to date with the latest training, and perhaps most importantly, implementing what is learnt, will give a Transport Manager, Operator and the Traffic Commissioner confidence that a Transport Manager is able to have the necessary ‘continuous and effective management’. The Traffic Commissioner goes further to say that they would like to see a review of the Transport Manager CPC in the same way there has been for drivers to ensure they are fit to manage the modernisation of vehicles.

Control of drivers and self-employment: Traffic Commissioners report that they have continued to see Operators who are unable to properly control their drivers due to the way they ‘engage them’ and refer to the Upper Tribunal case of Bridgestep Ltd [T/2019/054] which discusses the use of self-employed drivers under contract for services.

Brake tests from April 2025: A reminder that Operators should be aware of the changes to the DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness with effect from April 2025, that a laden roller brake test or electronic braking performance monitoring system (EBPMS) will be the only accepted methods to assess brake performance.

Drivers’ hours compliance: Adherence to the drivers’ hours rule has long been a central feature to compliance and road safety, but the Traffic Commissioners report seeing an increase in the number of cases with non-compliance, including driving without a tachograph card, altering tachograph records and using another driver’s card to avoid resting.

Periods of Grace: A helpful tip included in the report for Operators is to ensure that a sufficient notice period is built into a Transport Manager’s contract, as the Traffic Commissioners have seen a continuing trend of Transport Managers leaving a business with little or no notice. Earlier this year, the Traffic Commissioners published a reminder on the guidance in applying for a Period of Grace following a recurring theme throughout the year where operators had failed to understand the consequences of not taking appropriate actions during periods granted.

Dishonesty, licence lending and fronting: The lending of an operator licence to another, a fraudulent activity or a dishonest act are taken very seriously. An operator licence is not transferable, and the lending of it is taken very seriously. The message is clear in the report that acts of this nature will not be tolerated.

Key Statistics

Applications: Reported performance throughout the year saw the average processing time to determine applications for goods and PSV vehicle operator licences (without a hearing being required) was 32 days against a target of 35 days. In all traffic areas, there was a decrease in new licence applications.

Public inquiries: Looking at public inquiries completed in the East of England, there was an increase from 127 in 2022-23, to 161 in 2023-24. Out of the 161 completed hearings, 64 licences were revoked, which is around 40%. Only seven cases had no action taken, which means in around 95% of public inquiries regulatory action was taken.

The Birketts view

Looking across the country at the total figures for all traffic areas, there is a similar picture with 848 public inquiries completed and only 46 resulting in no action taken. With a percentage of around 94% of public inquiries resulting in regulatory action and around 25% resulting in a formal warning, it remains true that if a call up letter is received, the risk of regulatory action being taken is real.

Birketts transport regulatory specialists are well positioned to provide expert advice and representation. Should you need assistance with any operator licence concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Charlotte Hunt or Matthew Gowen.

You can view the Traffic Commissioners full report here.