The Senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain,
Richard Turfitt, has reinforced the importance of
continuous professional development for those
responsible for managing haulage, bus and coach
operations.
Introducing the revised Statutory
Documents, Mr Turfitt said responsible persons such
as transport managers should be proactive in their
efforts to keep up to date and make sure they are
effective in their roles.
He explains that transport managers and other
responsible persons should be able to demonstrate to
traffic commissioners that they are able to meet their
statutory responsibilities through professional
development, in particular when:
• they’ve not been acting for an operator in the last
five years • their qualification is more than 10 years
old • their ability to exercise continuous and
effective management is under consideration at a Public
Inquiry
The Senior Traffic Commissioner has revised a number of
other Statutory Documents, following a consultation,
which closed in August.
There is clearer guidance on what will happen if
some-one uses an operator’s licence without authority
(the practice of ‘fronting’), greater emphasis on the
importance of accurate applications, a new section on
support for tribunal users, updated guidance on what
happens when periods of grace expire and a new section
on driver employment status.
Mr Turfitt said:
“It is important that we get the balance right, so that
irresponsible people, who ignore the safety of other
road users, do not put compliant businesses at a
disadvantage.
These documents demonstrate our commitment to
transparency in the way we make our decisions.
“On this occasion the majority of changes are dictated
by the case law rather than a debate on policy. There
is a heavy emphasis on providing continuity but the
responses received have helped us to try and clarify
our approach to regulation.”
