A director of a Lichfield waste haulage business has been disqualified for three years after presiding over “a disturbingly non-compliant operation”. Nick Denton, West Midlands TC, said Jones Waste Services had shown an abject neglect of its legal duty to keep vehicles fit and serviceable and had endangered the safety of other road users.

The company appeared before the TC following a maintenance investigation by the DVSA, which found a poor MOT pass rate, an ineffective driver defect reporting system and excessive gaps between safety inspections. A follow-up investigation found the situation has deteriorated further and that drivers were clearly failing to conduct effective walk-round checks of their vehicles.

Director and transport manager Andrew Jones failed to attend the subsequent public inquiry and did not notify the TC in advance. Instead, he sent a letter via a fellow director explaining he had been self-isolating. But Denton was not impressed.

In his written decision, the TC said: “If Mr Jones was unable to carry these duties out himself, which has clearly been the case, he should either have appointed a replacement transport manager or stopped operating. In the event, the business has simply carried on with no one taking any responsibility for the maintenance and roadworthiness of vehicles.” 

Concluding, the TC said Jones had lost his good repute as a transport manager and therefore disqualified him indefinitely, as well as disqualifying him for three years as a director. The company’s licence was also revoked.