1. A licence is a responsibility, not a possession
An operator’s licence allows you to run a transport business. It also places ongoing responsibilities on you, your drivers and your Transport Manager. Compliance is not paperwork for its own sake. It is how you demonstrate that vehicles are safe, drivers are qualified and your operation can meet its undertakings.
A Scottish Traffic Commissioner decision published on GOV.UK on 17 September 2026 shows how problems can build across an operation. The decision, made on 2 June 2026, revoked the licence held by Horticultural Distribution Ltd and recorded a loss of repute. It also considered the individual responsibilities of the company’s director, drivers and Transport Managers.
This is not a story about one isolated defect. It is a useful, serious reminder of what can happen when compliance systems fail to prevent problems, or cannot show that they are working.
2. The case in brief
Horticultural Distribution Ltd held a Standard International Goods Vehicle Operator’s Licence authorising five vehicles and ten trailers. Its sole director was Jamie Ryan Sims.
The Traffic Commissioner called two Transport Managers to the inquiry:
- Lynn Sims, the former Transport Manager, who resigned with effect from 8 August 2025.
- Graeme Ferguson, named as Transport Manager from 23 October 2025.
The operator had also been before a Public Inquiry in March 2023, had later received formal notice and a warning, and had given undertakings relating to financial review. The published decision sets out the subsequent events and the Commissioner’s findings. You can read the full Traffic Commissioner decision for the complete account.
3. How separate problems added up
The sequence matters. Each event raised questions about the operator’s systems and whether problems were being identified, addressed and recorded.
3.1 The roadside encounter
On 5 April 2025, vehicle V88 HDL was stopped at Todhills, Carlisle. The Vehicle Examiner issued an S-marked Immediate Prohibition because the speed limiter was not restricting the vehicle to its legal maximum speed. A Delayed Prohibition was also issued for an illuminated engine malfunction indicator lamp associated with high emissions.
The driver, Michael Adam, had a Driver CPC card that had expired on 26 January 2025. He received a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice.
Tachograph data showed that an overspeed warning had appeared 90 times in the 28-day period after the encounter. Adam was driving on 76 of those occasions. The Commissioner noted that the repeated overspeed events should have been obvious to a professional driver. He also said the evidence before him did not establish collusion between the driver and mechanic.
3.2 Maintenance and record-keeping concerns
A DVSA maintenance investigation visit took place on 2 May 2025. Further S-marked prohibitions followed: a trailer received a prohibition for load insecurity on 1 August, and V888 HDL received one for braking-system defects on 27 August.
At a further visit on 25 September, investigators identified missing or inadequate evidence. This included no measured brake performance testing evidence for two vehicles since the previous visit, no completed PMI records for V888 HDL covering a period of more than a year, and no PMI records for trailer C307018. They also identified use of an unauthorised operating centre at 7 Stroud Road, Glasgow.
At that point, there was no Transport Manager in place. Mr Ferguson’s appointment was under consideration but had not been approved at the time of the visit.
3.3 Wider compliance picture and the inquiry
The decision also records shortcomings concerning drivers’ hours and tachograph management, vehicle monitoring, driver licensing and training, licence notifications and undertakings. The director’s driving record included three occasions of insufficient daily rest, against the required nine hours.
A systems check on 21 January 2026 scored 25, described as highly unsatisfactory. The score rose to 26 in the completed TEVR because vehicles were parked at an operating centre whose application had not been granted.
The Public Inquiry was listed for 2 June 2026 in Edinburgh. Despite additional time being allowed, none of the parties attended. The director and former Transport Manager had provided written representations. The Commissioner noted that Mr Ferguson had attended another hearing on 24 April 2026 and should have understood the importance of attending.
The director had asked to surrender the licence after receiving the call-up letter. The request was refused. The inquiry went ahead.
4. What the Commissioner considered
The inquiry considered a range of issues, including use of an unauthorised operating centre, failure to notify changes, Prohibition Notices, Fixed Penalty Notices, statements relating to inspection intervals and vehicle locations, and whether the operator had met its licence undertakings.
Those undertakings included keeping vehicles fit and serviceable, maintaining effective driver defect reporting, retaining complete maintenance records, and complying with drivers’ hours and tachograph rules.
The Commissioner also considered financial standing and whether each Transport Manager had exercised effective and continuous management. That question is about real responsibility in practice, not simply having a person’s name on a licence.
4.1 The “Priority Freight” question
The Commissioner applied the question from the Upper Tribunal case Priority Freight: how likely is it that the operator will comply in future?
The operator’s previous regulatory history, the continuing failures and the lack of a satisfactory explanation informed that assessment. The Commissioner was unable to reach a positive conclusion.
Financial standing was part of the picture too. It is not simply a figure in a bank account. As the decision explains, the purpose is to help ensure that an operator can run vehicles safely by affording to maintain them promptly and properly. Missing maintenance records and evidence can therefore have implications beyond administration.
5. The outcomes
| Person or business | Outcome recorded in the decision |
|---|---|
| Horticultural Distribution Ltd | Licence revoked from 23:45 on 2 June 2026; loss of repute recorded under section 27(1)(a). |
| Lynn Sims, former Transport Manager | Found to have failed to exercise effective and continuous management. Her repute was described as severely tarnished, and any future nomination must be referred to the Traffic Commissioner. No formal finding under section 27(1)(b) was made, as the Commissioner considered it disproportionate. |
| Graeme Ferguson, Transport Manager | His repute was tarnished, in part because he failed to attend the inquiry. He was formally warned. Most adverse incidents predated his appointment, but the Commissioner also required an explanation about changes in his engagement that were not notified. |
| Michael Adam, driver | His vocational entitlement was suspended for eight weeks from 23:59 on 9 June 2026. The decision considered the expired Driver CPC, overspeed events and failure to explain the illuminated warning light. |
| Jamie Ryan Sims, director and driver | His vocational entitlement was suspended for 28 days from 23:59 on 9 June 2026, relating to the curtailed rest breaks. |
The director and former Transport Manager described difficult personal circumstances. The Commissioner treated those circumstances respectfully, noting that they were relevant. He also explained that the Commissioner’s involvement in family matters arises where they interfere with licence compliance and create hazards for road users. Neither had told the office of matters affecting the former Transport Manager’s ability to meet her statutory duties.
6. What you can learn from the decision
6.1 A Transport Manager’s role is personal and active
The decision shows that a Transport Manager’s responsibilities do not end at nomination. Lynn Sims’s resignation did not erase the Commissioner’s consideration of the period in which she held the role. Mr Ferguson’s later appointment did not remove the importance of attending the inquiry or explaining relevant changes.
Under Statutory Document 3: Transport Managers, a Transport Manager must effectively and continuously manage an operator’s transport activities. Tasks can be delegated, but the manager remains responsible for ensuring they are done properly.
If you are a Transport Manager, make sure you have access to the records, time and authority you need. If you cannot discharge your responsibilities, raise the issue promptly and keep a record of what you have done.
6.2 Evidence is part of compliance
A maintenance system needs to work, and you need to be able to show that it works. Keep complete PMI records, brake-test evidence, defect reports and records of remedial action. Review tachograph and drivers’ hours data, and act on recurring warnings or infringements.
An empty Transport Manager position is also a matter to address. Notify relevant changes and follow the correct process for appointing a replacement. A proposed appointment is not the same as an approved appointment.
6.3 Attend and engage
If you receive a call-up letter or a request for information, do not ignore it. Attend the hearing, provide the requested material and explain what has happened and what you have changed. The decision specifically states that Mr Ferguson’s failure to attend tarnished his repute. A hearing is not a formality to leave for someone else.
You can browse Traffic Commissioner regulatory decisions to see how compliance issues are considered in published cases. If you are considering the Transport Manager role, GOV.UK also explains how to become a Transport Manager.
7. Training to help you stay one step ahead
Good training can help you check that your knowledge and systems are current before an audit or inquiry puts them under pressure.
Open Road Training Ltd delivers a two-day Transport Manager CPC Refresher and Compliance Awareness course for road haulage and passenger transport. It costs £350 plus VAT and is built around the questions DVSA and the Traffic Commissioner actually ask: audit expectations, effective and continuous management, and evidence of CPD. Eligible attendees can add up to seven hours of Driver CPC per day attended, subject to a maximum of 35 hours.
The two-day refresher is a recognised starting point for CPD evidence under Statutory Document 3. The framework considers whether refresher training or CPD has been completed within five years. That is a useful prompt to review your professional development, not a reason to wait until a compliance issue is already on the table.
We also offer:
- One-day Operator Licence Awareness Training (OLAT).
- Three-day combined OLAT and compliance courses, suitable for office and administration staff and holders of Restricted Operator Licences.
- Home-study Transport Manager CPC, with an online exam.
- Full 10-day Transport Manager CPC courses, with exams at our centre. Full courses are scheduled for November 2026.
See our Transport Manager and OLAT course information, full Transport Manager CPC options and course dates.
8. The takeaway
This decision shows how issues across maintenance, records, driver management, operating-centre authorisation and Transport Manager oversight can combine. The Commissioner’s question was not only what had gone wrong, but whether future compliance could be trusted.
If you run an operation or manage one, review your systems now. Make sure they are active, that responsibilities are clear and that the evidence is easy to produce. Open Road Training delivers courses at 29 Hope Street, Motherwell, ML1 1BS, opposite Motherwell train station. Call 01698 598 665 or email info@open-road.org to discuss the right course for you.
