The firm, which is based in Sevenoaks, will be unable to operate its 18 vehicles from 3 December until 17 December, following the incident which occurred on 7 July 2015.
Traffic Commissioner Nick Denton was told that company director David Barker had been driving on the A282 Dartford Approach, heading clockwise, when he was directed to stop by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) enforcement officers.
The officers were seeking to check that the vehicle’s load of four-stacked skips had been secured properly.
According to the DVSA, two attempts to direct the vehicle off the road and into a check site were made by the officers, but that Mr Barker did not respond.
Safety
At a conduct hearing last month (15 October), Mr Barker told the Traffic Commssioner that it had not been safe to pull over into the inside lane and follow the stopping vehicle, due to traffic behind his vehicle.
He added that the skips were spot-welded together and therefore did not constitute an insecure load.
But examining footage from cameras on-board the DVSA vehicle, the Commissioner concluded there were no vehicles in the inside lane when the officers directed Mr Barker to follow them. The nearest vehicle in the second land was at ‘least 100 yards behind’.
The DVSA examiner also reported in the hearing that Mr Barker had not been using a tachograph card at the time of the incident, stating that it was faulty. However, according to the DVSA he had failed to take a print out from the tachograph unit and make a manual entry on the back before starting to drive, which is the required procedure if the tachograph is faulty.
Suspension
In addition to suspending the company’s licence, Mr Denton ordered an eight-week suspension of Mr Barker’s vocational driving licence – which bars him from operating a vehicle professionally during that time.
“Mr Barker had sufficient time and opportunity to comply with DVSA’s instructions.”
Nick Denton, Traffic Commissioner
He concluded that he did not accept Mr Barker’s failure to stop, adding the officers had ‘legitimate’ concerns about the skip load. Mr Denton added he ‘would not tolerate’ any attempts to avoid enforcement activity or conceal non-compliance from Agencies.
The regulator said: “Mr Barker had sufficient time and opportunity to comply with DVSA’s instructions. His failure, without a reasonable excuse, to comply – at a time when he was breaking the rules relating to the use of tachograph cards – does not reflect well on his own or the company’s fitness to hold a licence.”
Appeal
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Barker said that he would be appealing the Traffic Commissioner’s suspension and is “currently in consultation” with his local MP Michael Fallon.
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