A Bury St Edmunds operator has been disqualified for five years after a traffic commissioner found evidence he had falsified roller brake test results.
Karl Hall, which held an international operator licence for five lorries and two trailers, was also found to have lied about not having any convictions, operated his sole trader business as a limited company and allowed his vehicles to be used without a tachograph card, as well as clocking up “numerous other serious drivers’ hours offences”. Vehicle Inspection Tools
The operator appeared before deputy traffic commissioner Nicholas Denton after one of his trucks was stopped by the DVSA and it appeared that registration plates were being swapped between Hall’s vehicles.
In addition, a driver had used a vehicle without the correct driving licence, and the director failed to provide the full drivers’ hours data to the DVSA for analysis.
It also became apparent that Hall had received a conviction in 2017 for possession of stolen goods and he had been given a suspended prison sentence and then in December 2022 he received a second suspended prison sentence for handling stolen goods.
At a Cambridge public inquiry, the operator claimed he didn’t know why vehicles were displaying different number plates, but that in one example it would have been a mistake.
Separate analysis by the DTC of roller brake test results then found anomalies, which appeared to suggest they had been falsified.
Hall denied this and the PI was adjourned so that the DVSA could gather evidence from A and R Commercials, which conducted the brake tests.
Hall tried to blame the brake test provider for these falsifications, but A and R’s MD insisted it would not do anything to jeopardise its O-licence – and the deputy TC agreed:
“I do not accept his [Hall’s] contention that responsibility for the false records – and they are clearly false – lies with A and R Commercials,” Denton said in his decision.
“A and R would have no motive to create false documents and put their reputation both with the traffic commissioner as an O-licence holder and with other operators, as a maintenance provider, at risk.”
He added that Hall had shown a disregard for the law and dishonesty on a scale which made it impossible for him to retain his repute and so his licence was revoked.
Chris Tindall started writing for the haulage and logistics industry in 2002 and has covered a broad range of significant issues, including GPS jamming by criminals, platooning and Brexit.
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