Road transport lawyer and DVSA investigations? The Traffic Commissioner will take an active role in asking questions and challenging your evidence, before making a decision on whether the vehicle should be returned. Again, Smith Bowyer Clarke has a wide experience of successfully securing the release of seized trucks at Traffic Commissioner hearings. Our record is exceptional. Speak to one of our transport lawyers today for a free initial consultation. The UK authorities can seize any EU owned truck suspected of unlawful cabotage operations in the UK. Even if the vehicle was inside the “3 in 7” rule the truck can still be seized if its paperwork is not in order.

An Appeal to the County Court. This consists of a court hearing at which the Judge will consider all of the evidence including whether the penalty should have been imposed at all and, if so, whether it was too high. Both routes may be followed independently, or at the same time, and if a Notice of Objection fails you can still appeal to the County Court. Be warned however – strict time limits apply to the appeal process. At Smith Bowyer Clarke, our road transport lawyers regularly conduct appeals both through the review process and in the County Court and have an impressive track record of cancelled or reduced penalties.

Welcome to Smith Bowyer Clarke. We provide, simple, straightforward, and practical legal solutions to all your transport problems. If your company or your driver faces police investigation or have received a Single Justice Procedure Notice or Court summons, call our team today. Offences committed in cars and vans can adversely affect your operator’s licence and should not be lightly brushed aside. See more details at London low emission zone fine.

The DVSA don’t waste much of their time visiting compliant operators so it is almost certainly to do with something that you, or your employees/agents, have done or have failed to do. The triggers are legion, but common ones are where your vehicles are stopped and mechanical defects are found; or the vehicle is overloaded; or there are drivers’ hours infringements discovered…. and so on. Alternatively it could be that the visit has been requested by the Traffic Commissioner as a result of a requested variation you have submitted. It might even be that your MOT failure rate is higher than the national average, which always sets alarm bells ringing.

During an operating centre inspection, the DVSA / VOSA will want to analyse your tachograph records and may want to download data from your vehicles and from the driver cards. If tachograph offences are found, the operator can expect to be interviewed under caution about them. Following the interview, the inspection officer will compile a report of their findings. Depending on the seriousness of any tacho infringements found, the operator may be prosecuted, or called to Public Inquiry with the Traffic Commissioner. For more information, speak to one of our specialist transport defence lawyers today. Discover extra details at Road Haulage Lawyers.