Pentons Haulage has fleet curtailed after DVSA investigation

Pentons Haulage’s transport managers and nine of its drivers were all called to a hearing by the Deputy Traffic Commissioner on September 23 after alleged breaches of its operator licence.

The commissioner identified management issues and operator licence breaches - and has now curtailed the company's fleet from 70 vehicles and 100 trailers to 60 vehicles and 100 trailers.

A report says a full audit of the company would help its cause were it to apply to increase its fleet again in the future.

The investigation began after a driver hit a metal barrier on the M54, causing the vehicle to jackknife and run into a grass embankment on August 13 last year.

The driver "tested positive for cocaine", leading West Mercia Police to inform the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC), which in turn asked the DVSA to undertake a traffic examiner’s investigation of the operator.

Now that investigation has identified "concerns related to inspection and maintenance records; vehicle emissions; and that eight roadside inspections had resulted in enforcement action in the preceding 11 months, all with road safety concerns".

Nine drivers were found with infringements following a compliance check between August and November 2025, and "these had not been reviewed or assessed by the operator".

Analysis identified "10,535 kilometres of vehicle movements undertaken without a driver card being inserted".

Investigators noted that these incidents "were isolated to individual drivers rather than indicative of systemic driver intent" but that they were not "identified or addressed" by the then-transport manager.

Explanations from drivers suggested "a lack of adequate instruction", but that "infringements were not brought to their attention" until a new transport manager took over.

Deputy Traffic Commissioner, Dr Paul Stookes found that drivers were "largely unaware" they were acting unlawfully.

He also noted that the then transport manager was facing "quite serious personal difficulties", leading to the "lack of management and review of the drivers", although Pentons Haulage emphasised that he was not to blame.

Dr Stookes found that Pentons Haulage had breached five areas of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995.

He noted that this was "the first occasion that the operator has been called to a public inquiry since its licence was granted in 1993" and issues were addressed quickly, with "material improvements noted since December 2025".

Despite this, the investigation identified breaches of legislation and, "at the point of intervention" the company "was in breach of its licence conditions and undertakings".

He said: "One of the difficulties is that until recently, the operator and its directors do not appear to have fully understood the nature and extent of their responsibilities under the operator licensing regime.

"If they had, they had been ignoring them. Yet operators are deemed to have such understanding."

Dr Stookes found that the case was regarded "as serious to moderate" and that the reputation of the transport managers "is severely tarnished but not lost".

Pentons Haulage was ordered to identify "an independent body to carry out an audit of transport safety and compliance systems" by next March.

The audit will "assess the systems for complying with maintenance and/or drivers hours requirements, and the effectiveness with which those systems are implemented".

Pentons has been approached for comment.