Being called to a Public Inquiry is one of the worst experiences an operator can encounter during their career.
Although the operator may not have realised it the process normally, but not always, with a visit from a DVSA Examiner who has conducted a fleet inspection and issued a form PG13F&G. The Fleet Inspection may have been triggered by an 'S' marked PG9 or involvement in a serious accident such as a 'bridge strike' by one of the operators vehicles. The sooner the operator askes for assistance from a good Transport Consultant, such as PTS, or specialised Transport Solicitor the better the chance of obtaining a good outcome.
The PG13F part of the form requires explinations of items found at the inspection which must be responder to within 14 days. A good reply to this can on some occasions prevent the matter progressing further, but in any case the reply will form part of the evidence at the Inquiry should it progress there.
The next stage in the process is a letter calling the operator to a Public Inquiry which will normaly take place in about 28 days time at your local Traffic Commissioners offices. The letter will give the operator the date, time and place and outline the reasons for calling it, including the sections of legislation considered that they have not observed and that will have to answer for.
The next item to arrive is known by solicitors and advocates as 'The Bundle'. This containes almost everything known about the operator and will form the evidence to be considered at the Public Inquiry. In a simple Inquiry this may be as small as two or three hundred pages but can frequently consist of more than a thousand.
It must be stressed that attending a Public Inquiry will have a serious impact on your business. On average almost half of all operators called will loose their Operator Licence and a good percentage of Transport Managers, Owners, Partners and Directors will be disqualified in being involved in the operation of commercial road transport for a considerablr period of time.
Obtaining the very best preparation and professional representation will go a long way to provide a successful outcome and we at PTS have years of experience in providing the very best help and advice available.
Call us at PTS on the very earliest opportunity as they say "every second counts"
