‘Face the music’ – warning to transport managers03 April 2014

Transport managers who fail to attend public inquiries are in danger of losing their repute and professional competence.

That's the warning from traffic commissioner Nick Denton, after four hearings took place recently in the absence of the operators' nominated transport managers.

Excuses included work and family commitments, and in each case there were doubts as to whether the transport manager had been truly involved in the business.

However, says Denton, if the transport managers had attended the inquiries and owned up to their failings, he would have been more impressed than by them not showing up at all.

In the four cases, the traffic commissioner ruled that the transport managers had lost their repute and professional competence. He disqualified them all for an indefinite period of time.

Under EU regulations, CPC and acquired rights holders can be called before regulators as individuals.

"Traffic commissioners have spent a lot of time emphasising to the industry how significant the role of transport manager is... Some are simply still phantoms on a licence and, if their operator is called to an inquiry, prefer to bury their heads in the sand rather than come and face the music," he adds.

Any transport manager who is found to have lost their repute or professional competence is automatically disqualified from acting as in that role in any European member state. The period of disqualification is set by the commissioner.

Regulators can also insist transport managers re-sit the CPC qualification.

Author
Laura Cork

Related Companies
Department for Transport

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