A Hull haulage transport company has had its operating licence revoked after an industry regulator said it put lives at risk.
Two directors of R&M Transport Services, of Scotts Wharf, Lime Street, have also been disqualified from holding a goods vehicle operator’s licence.
The sanctions by the North East of England Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney was announced today after a public inquiry held last month.
He said company directors father and son Graham and Michael Holgate put undue pressure on drivers to satisfy the needs of customers.
In one incident, police stopped one of the firm’s lorries carrying a mobile home in Wales because it was considered a danger to other traffic.
The lorry’s load was said to have “put lives at risk” because it was wider than restrictions placed on the route during road works, creating a potential danger to oncoming vehicles. The driver also had no paperwork on him when he was pulled over.
Mr Rooney said the firm should have been aware of the road works beforehand and organised a police ■■■■■■ but had failed to do so. He also said there was evidence drivers, directors and transport managers at the company repeatedly falsified records.
In a written decision, he added: "The effect of a revocation decision in this case is largely to change the identity of those who will manage and profit from this transport operation.
“Given that the significant growth of the business, doubling in size since 2014, gave rise to, or was supported by, drivers, directors and the transport manager falsifying tachograph records, it is entirely appropriate and not disproportionate for this business to be brought to an end.”
A Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) investigation led to a number of employees being convicted for false record offences, which related to their driving activities.
Mr Rooney said: “I do find that the directors put drivers under undue pressure to satisfy commercial requirements and should, at the very least, have had concerns at the ability to do so legally. They should also have had systems in place to detect offending of that nature and did not.”
In addition to the revoking the company’s licence, directors Graham and Michael Holgate were each disqualified from holding an operator’s licence for three months. Graham Holgate was given a three-month disqualification from acting as a transport manager.
Giving evidence to the inquiry, he accepted the offences had been committed and admitted matters had got “totally out of order”. His son Michael said he unsuccessfully tried to juggle managing the business while working as a driver, describing his cab as his office.
The company, which is thought to employ around 70 staff, was first granted an operating licence in 2010 and has a fleet of 20 vehicles and 13 trailers.
No one at the firm was available for comment.
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