Charlotte Hunt
- Profile
Charlotte joined Birketts in May 2023 and is an Associate within the Regulatory and Corporate Defence Team.
Transport and logistics are at the heart of the regulatory matters. Charlotte has built experience in advising operators, transport managers and drivers. She has a specialism in road transport regulation, operator licensing and prosecutions brought by the DVSA, regularly appearing before Traffic Commissioners across the country at Public Inquiries, Driver Conduct Hearings and Preliminary Hearings.
Charlotte’s attention to detail and methodical approach ensure her clients are fully prepared for the scrutiny of the Traffic Commissioner and put in the best position to preserve their licence. As a result of the proactive work, Charlotte is able to foresee compliance areas that may be of concern to Operators and actively support them.
Having joined from a national firm, she has experience of working with global and listed companies, standard national operators, restricted operators and passenger service operators. She can understand the pressures on an organisation at all levels, working with each to positively engage and work towards implementing best practice.
Charlotte is based in our Cambridge office.
Areas of specialism
- DVSA investigations and prosecutions.
- Public Inquiries before the Traffic Commissioner, including Preliminary Hearings and appeals to the Upper Tribunal.
- Financial standing.
- Compliance with Operator Licence undertakings, including brake tests.
- Drivers’ Hours regulations, tachograph and drivers’ hours offences.
- Overloading and load security offences.
- Roadside stops, fixed penalties and prohibitions.
- Driver Conduct Hearings.
- Operator Licence applications and variations.
- Vehicle seizures and impounding.
She also has experience dealing with criminal law matters, representing clients at the Police Station and in the Magistrates’ and Crown Court. In particular she represents drivers following road traffic collisions involving fatalities and serious injury offences. Alongside this, she has dealt with prosecutions brought by a number of public bodies, such as Local Authorities and the Health and Safety Executive.
Recent cases
- Advising an international Operator on the relationship between ATA Carnet and cabotage regulations for a specific industry work type.
- Advising a Company on the considerations around e-scooter use.
- Advising an Operator in the aftermath of a wheel loss.
- Advising an objector to an Operator Licence application based on environmental grounds, including preparation of the written objection and bundle of evidence.
- Advising and representing a Local Authority as Respondents in a taxi licensing appeal by a driver in their jurisdiction and their decision not to grant a licence.
- Advising and representing a person being investigated for several counts of ABH and controlling / coercive behaviour, resulting in no further action.
