Driver Conduct Hearings
Being called to a Driver Conduct Hearing can have serious consequences for your ability to work as a professional driver. It is important to understand why you have been called before the Traffic Commissioner and to prepare carefully.
Traffic Commissioners consider the conduct and fitness of drivers who hold, or apply to hold, LGV or PCV vocational driving entitlement. For LGV drivers, the relevant conduct is conduct as a driver of a motor vehicle. For PCV drivers, other conduct relevant to their fitness to hold PCV entitlement may also be considered.
If you have been called to a Driver Conduct Hearing, I can advise you on the concerns that have been raised, help you prepare your case and represent you before the Traffic Commissioner.
Why Have I Been Called to a Driver Conduct Hearing?
A Driver Conduct Hearing may be held where a case has been referred to the Traffic Commissioner and there are concerns about whether a driver is fit to hold LGV or PCV vocational driving entitlement. The Traffic Commissioner’s role is not to impose an additional punishment, but to determine the driver’s fitness to hold vocational entitlement.
Depending on the circumstances, concerns may arise from matters such as:
- driving offences or a history of repeated offending;
- using a hand-held mobile phone or another electronic device while driving;
- drivers’ hours, working time or tachograph offences;
- falsification of tachograph or other records;
- serious or dangerous driving;
- drink or drug driving;
- collisions resulting in death or serious injury; or
- other driving conduct that may call into question the driver’s fitness to hold vocational entitlement.
For PCV drivers, the Traffic Commissioner may also consider conduct outside driving where it is relevant to fitness to hold PCV entitlement. This can include serious offences involving dishonesty, violence, drugs or safeguarding concerns.
Each case is considered on its own facts. Relevant matters can include the nature and number of offences, positive and negative features, whether the offending was repeated and the likelihood of future offending.
Preparing for a Driver Conduct Hearing
Careful preparation is important because the Traffic Commissioner will consider the individual circumstances of your case and whether you are fit to hold vocational driving entitlement.
Depending on the issues raised, preparation may include:
- reviewing the call-up letter and evidence relating to the hearing;
- understanding the particular conduct or offences that resulted in the referral;
- considering the circumstances in which the conduct occurred;
- reviewing your previous driving record and any relevant history;
- gathering appropriate evidence of training, rehabilitation or other steps taken since the incident;
- complying with any directions about documents or evidence; and
- preparing to explain what has changed and why similar problems are unlikely to arise again.
Preparation should provide the Traffic Commissioner with an accurate picture of the circumstances, the steps taken since the events in question and your current fitness to hold vocational driving entitlement.
What Can Happen After a Driver Conduct Hearing?
The outcome will depend on the circumstances of the individual case, the conduct being considered and the evidence before the Traffic Commissioner. The regulatory starting points in the official guidance do not determine the outcome, and each case must be considered on its own facts.
Depending on the circumstances, the Traffic Commissioner may:
- leave the driver’s vocational entitlement unchanged;
- issue a warning;
- suspend the driver’s LGV or PCV vocational entitlement for a period;
- revoke the vocational entitlement and disqualify the driver from holding it for a specified period or indefinitely;
- require the driver to regain entitlement by passing the appropriate test; or
- refuse an application for vocational entitlement.
The decision will focus on whether the driver is fit to hold vocational entitlement, rather than imposing an additional punishment for an offence already dealt with by the criminal courts.
How Can I Help with a Driver Conduct Hearing?
I can advise you from an early stage, review the call-up letter and evidence, help you understand the concerns that have been raised, and prepare your case and supporting evidence. That advice can continue through to the hearing, where I can represent you before the Traffic Commissioner.
Have you been called to a Driver Conduct Hearing?
If you have been called to a Driver Conduct Hearing, contact me to discuss the concerns that have been raised and how I can help you prepare and present your case before the Traffic Commissioner.