Transport regulation and operator licensing lawyers

Your operator’s licence may be your company’s most valuable asset. Without it, you cannot operate goods vehicles or buses. As an operator licence holder, your business and its transport managers are closely regulated by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner and the DVSA. A good relationship with the regulator is “mission-critical” to the success of your business.

Our specialist transport regulatory lawyers have been advising those in the goods and passenger transport sector for decades. Our clients are from all sectors of the supply chain, and include:

• Dedicated hauliers and bus companies, both in the UK and worldwide
• Other companies that also hold an operator’s licence to move goods or passengers
• Holders of both standard, international and restricted operator licences
• Directors, transport managers and professional drivers

How our transport regulatory lawyers can help you

We understand that safe, profitable and successful fleet operations are key to the success of your business. Our expert transport regulatory solicitors can support you with:

• Regulatory defence: Representing your business and its drivers during DVSA investigations and Traffic Commissioner proceedings and public inquiries
• Risk management: Identifying regulatory risk and responding to incidents
• Growth: Ensuring your operator’s licence supports your business, rather than holds it back

Our transport regulation services

Regulatory defence

No matter how large or compliant an operator is, accidents can still happen. Every year the Office of the Traffic Commissioner holds over 1,000 public inquiries and preliminary hearings, and many more driver conduct hearings. These usually follow an investigation by the DVSA.

Undergoing a regulatory investigation or Traffic Commissioner proceedings can be extremely harmful to a company’s reputation. Our overriding focus is on reducing risk and exposure and minimising reputational damage.

Our transport regulatory defence solicitors can:

• Represent your business in any proceedings before the Traffic Commissioner, including public inquiries, preliminary hearings and senior team leader meetings
• Making any necessary representations to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner with a view to seeking to neutralise or pre-empt any regulatory action
• Advise and represent you during any DVSA maintenance or drivers’ hours investigation or desk-based assessment, and assistance in responding to any DVSA or police record production request
• Representing a company driver, employee or manager during any interview under caution conducted by either the police, DVSA, or other enforcement body;
• Represent your drivers at any driver conduct hearing or during any criminal proceedings with a view to protecting your company’s interests and reputation.

Risk management

Operating HGVs or buses is perhaps the highest-risk activity undertaken by any business. Identifying and eliminating transport risk and responding effectively to incidents that occur should be a top priority for all operators.

Our expert solicitors can:

• Provide bespoke training on transport regulatory matters, both board level and transport manager level.
• Carry out a compliance health check of your business to assess any areas of risk and exposure
• Review your core fleet risk policies to ensure they are in line with current legislation, and protect the interests of the company in the event of an incident
• Assist you in reporting any prohibitions, fixed penalty notices or driver convictions to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner with a view to preventing regulatory escalation
• Help you to carry out your own legally privileged internal investigation into incidents and “near misses” such as bridge strikes, collisions, prohibition notices and wheel losses

Growth

An operator’s licence should never be an afterthought. Strategic licensing advice at an early stage is crucial if you are planning to grow your fleet or restructure your business. This is also relevant if you are seeking to acquire or merge with another business that holds an operator’s licence, add additional operating centres to your licence, or expand existing sites.

Our specialist operator's licence lawyers can:

• Advise you in relation to any application to vary your operator’s licence
• Correspond as necessary with the regulator on your behalf to facilitate the grant of an application and advise you on matters of financial standing
• Assist you in your duties to notify the Office of the Traffic Commissioner of any material change to your business
• Conducting transport regulatory due diligence during any merger or acquisition, and advising on any insolvency proceedings involving an operator licence holder

We can also assist with cross-border matters including challenging Border Force clandestine entrant civil penalties.

Our team is nationally and regionally recognised by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. We also have extensive experience in other regulatory matters including health and safety.

We are here to help and lighten the load. Our specialist transport regulatory team cover the whole of the country and are always available for a no-obligation conversation to discuss your requirements.

We also have a leading team of non-transport public inquiry lawyers who deal with all non-Traffic Commissioner public inquiries.