Issued by: Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain

In a recent public inquiry, the Senior Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt, heard a case regarding the school transport vehicles operated by North Lanarkshire Council under section 19 of the Transport Act 1985. The council operates using 35 of these permits.

In October 2023, one of the vehicles on a school run suffered a double wheel loss incident. Thankfully, no children were involved in the incident.

Even though these permits allow for services to be run without an operators’ licence, the organisation running the service is still expected to ensure any vehicle used under the permit must have a certificate of initial fitness (or equivalent) and comply with the conditions of fitness prescribed for public service vehicles. Any vehicle used under the permit must be kept in a roadworthy condition and any person driving the vehicle when used under a permit must meet the relevant driver licencing requirements.

A DVSA investigation noted missing inspection records and that some had not been completed properly. There were extended intervals between safety inspections and there was little forward planning. Some records were not available at the initial visit and had to be supplied later.

It was found that the driver defect reporting system was not fully effective relying on weekly driver defect reports. A prohibition that was issued during the fleet check for a rear passenger seat loose at the floor mounting should have been identified during the driver’s walk round check.

The operator replied to the shortcomings and gave assurances to DVSA. A contract with the external contractor was addressed and action plans were created.

A new Business Manager (Fleet Services), John McElhinney, was recruited, to commence his role on 1 July 2024 with a new reporting regime. The operator has also produced the PSV CPC for a qualified member of staff. It was confirmed that the DVSA investigation and the hearing had compelled the operator to examine its systems and procedures for ensuring Section 19 permit compliance.

Mr. Turfitt noted that there had not been effective controls at the time. He was assured that, going forward, drivers will have a greater understanding, from the new guidance, toolbox talks, and monitoring of walk round checks. He was assured by the investment in training for existing staff And that there would now be oversight from the highest level of the Authority.

In his written decision, the Commissioner recorded “I am now satisfied that there are proper systems in place to ensure compliance and ensure the safety of the passenger carrying fleet. I am also satisfied that the operator has established clear reporting lines to ensure that those standards will be implemented and continue to meet ongoing requirements. I have noted that maintenance standards will be applied in-house and to external suppliers and that those will be audited. The incident has resulted in the implementation of a specific wheel security policy, with an external tyre company to undertake third party checks. All of that will also be logged and audited”

He continued ”It shouId not have proved necessary for a Traffic Commissioner to alert a Local Authority to the basic concepts of health and safety legislation and management.

“It will no doubt have been of significant concern to those who entrust loved ones to be carried under these permit operations, that maintenance and compliance management had been allowed to deteriorate to the point where a long-standing issue deteriorated, and a wheel became detached from a vehicle. I share those concerns. This could so easily have resulted in tragedy and the management of safety in the Authority would have found to be lacking. The alternative would be to remove these permits, to the detriment of all those members of the pubic who rely on these services. To avoid that and in support of future safe operations, I attach conditions to the Permits to this operator issued on behalf of the Traffic Commissioner.”

The full written decision containing the conditions can be found here: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-for-north-lanarkshire-council)

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