Nick Denton, traffic commissioner for the West Midlands, said Philip Haynes-Smith completely failed to exercise any of the required functions for the role.
Haynes-Smith, who resigned from his post with Masters Haulage in February 2017, was said to have a “worrying lack of knowledge” of the drivers’ hours rules, and was also identified as one of the firm’s worst offending drivers after a DVSA investigation.
At a public inquiry last month, the traffic commissioner said: “A transport manager’s responsibilities cannot be negotiated or neglected. It’s never acceptable for the TM named on an operator’s licence to simply stop carrying out their duties.
“Where circumstances change, transport managers must be proactive. If the TM is asked to take on another role in the business and that affects their transport duties, they need to speak to the licence holder immediately.”
Masters Haulage came before the traffic commissioner as a result of a DVSA investigation in December 2016.
The regulator heard that examiners had identified several problems, including overdue vehicle inspections, a high prohibition rate, MOT failures and lack of accurate records.
Denton revoked the company’s operator licence with immediate effect and disqualified its director, Shaughan Genna, who had failed to attend the inquiry.