As well as having jurisdiction over operators, Traffic Commissioners also have a range of powers relating to a driver’s LGV or PCV entitlement.
When are they Held?
A Driver Conduct Hearing (DCH) is a hearing before a Traffic Commissioner to determine whether a driver remains fit or is fit to hold a vocational licence.
Driver Conduct Hearings are often held in conjunction with a Public Inquiry, but they can also be standalone hearings where only the driver is required to attend.
A driver may be called to a DCH where there is evidence that calls into question his or her fitness, by reason of conduct, to hold a vocational licence. For example, a hearing may be called following a bridge strike or where a driver has committed offences.
Those offences may include drivers’ hours infringements, construction and use offences or referrals from the DVSA or police
Other circumstances in which a driver may be called to a DCH include applications and convictions (not necessarily an LGV or PCV).
The Traffic Commissioner has the power to refuse an application, impose an additional disqualification period (relating to LGV/PCV entitlement only), suspend the vocational entitlement or revoke the vocational entitlement entirely
If entitlement is revoked, the driver will need to apply for the vocational licence to be reinstated. In some cases, a full retest may also be required.
If entitlement is suspended, the licence will usually be automatically reinstated once the suspension period expires.
Process
Where a DCH is to take place, the driver will receive call-up papers sent to the address held by the DVLA. The papers will explain why the hearing has been called and where it will take place.
It is extremely important that drivers engage with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner and attend the hearing. Attending on the day gives the driver the opportunity to explain the circumstances to the Commissioner. Failure to attend deprives the driver of that opportunity, and the matter can proceed in the driver’s absence.
Statutory Document No. 6 Vocational Driver Conduct sets out the starting points for regulatory action that Traffic Commissioners are expected to follow, together with case study examples illustrating how different circumstances may affect the outcome.
For example, in the case of a bridge strike involving a current vocational licence holder (where there has been disregard for route instructions, vehicle or road signage) the starting point is revocation of the vocational entitlement and a six-month disqualification.
In circumstances where a driver was unfamiliar with the route, there were no casualties and the driver has engaged with re-training, the outcome may be a 1 month suspension.
Drivers often ask is whether the Traffic Commissioner can remove their car licence entitlement. The answer is no. Traffic Commissioners have no power to revoke a Category B driving licence. That remains a matter for the criminal courts.
The role of the Commissioner in DCH’s is relatively narrow. It is simply to determine whether a driver remains fit, by reason of his or her conduct, to hold a vocational driving licence. It is the result of that determination that may have far reaching consequences.
As with all regulatory matters, each case turns on its own facts.
