Our road transport law team has significant experience and expertise in advising the passenger and haulage industries in relation to both regulation and enforcement matters. The breadth of experience in the firm ensures a comprehensive industry focussed and seamless service for all of those involved in the road transport industry. The team understands that often regulatory advice is needed after the event and we have the resource to react quickly.
It is an expectation of the authorities that the Board of any company involved in transport will undertake regular auditing of their compliance with their Operator's Licence and transport law generally. It is not uncommon for large companies (particularly where their focus is on areas other than transport) to simply believe they are fulfilling their duties by employing a properly qualified Transport Manager or Transport Managers. We offer an audit service of the systems and procedures in place which can ensure compliance and potentially provide the board with a defence to criminal prosecution and avoid director disqualification.
Our lawyers ensure that our clients are fully up to speed with the risks arising from other regulatory legislation, including health and safety [link] and corporate manslaughter [link] (an investigation into which may arise should a driver be involved in a road traffic incident) and the impact failure to comply with their Operator’s Licences would have on any decision to prosecute.
A number of transport-related offences are strict liability and to avoid prosecution robust systems need to be implemented. We alert clients to the potential liability and the risks to the business stemming from conviction. The team has many years experience defending transport related offence and can use this knowledge to advise on preventive action.
We also work with transport managers to advise on the full range of applications made to the Traffic Commissioner. We have a process in place which deals with these applications quickly and efficiently. Many large companies will handle both day-to-day and major applications to the Traffic Commissioner in-house through their Transport Manager. It has been proven that even fully qualified and experienced Transport Managers do not appreciate all the issues surrounding applications and the potentially serious consequences of failure. Getting it right first time enhances a company OCRS score with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. It also avoids costly consequences of the potential interruption to business or the significant cost of being called to Public Inquiry to explain why it went wrong.
For clients who regularly have to deal with VOSA and police prosecutions we can offer a fixed fee package to assist.
We are appointed to the Road Haulage Association panel of solicitors to advise and represent members, members of the Confederation of Passenger Transport and contribute to the Safety and Environment Working Group.