Records fiddle minibus firm stripped of licence

TRANSPORT companies are being warned about the dangers of falsifying drivers hours records after an Oldham minibus firm was stripped of its licence to operate vehicles.

Zulu’s Minibus lost its licence after one its owners, Cornelius Hart, concealed a second job as a taxi driver, by using false names on the cab firm’s tacograph, which logs driving time.

Deputy traffic commissioner for the North Western Traffic Area, Elizabeth Perrett, took action after hearing that Mr Hart had driven for Shaw Firm Motown taxis under the pseudonyms of D Walker and David Walker on 24 occasions between May 24 and November 15 in 2009.

The public inquiry heard that Mr Hart was regularly driving more hours than he was legally permitted to, transporting schoolchildren around in his minibus during the week and working for Motown at the weekends.

While doing this, he regularly broke European regulations by failing to take regular rest breaks while driving and in between driving jobs. Zulu’s, based in Cartmel Crescent, Chadderton, was found to be in breach of the Public Passenger Act 1985, by failing to keep proper records and not satisfying the requirement on their licence to be of good repute.

An appeal against the decision was dismissed.

As well as losing its licence, Zulu’s minibus have also been ordered to pay a total of £4,200 in fines after being found guilty of 14 counts of knowingly making a false record by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency.

In summing up, Miss Perrett hit out at what she described as Mr Hart’s “elaborate cover up” and said that this was more serious than his excessive driving.

Miss Perrett said: “I find that Mr Hart well knew what he was doing was wrong and he devised an elaborate plan to cover up the fact that he was driving in excess of permitted hours by inventing a second driver.

“This is a very, very serious matter. The Traffic Commissioners take particular account of the fact that these rules are designed to ensure road safety, to protect drivers as well as protect other road users.

“Traffic commissioners will regard falsification as more serious than the offence it may be designed to conceal and in taking this action, I hope this sends a clear message to other operators tempted to emulate Mr Hart’s actions.”