aking the punishment fit the crime
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Disciplinary procedure
Before taking disciplinary action against a haulier the TC will listen to recommendations from the Licensing Review Board (LRB). The clerk to the TC deals with the appointment of LRB members; they normally include (VI) personnel, who will deal with roadworthiness, road traffic and tachograph issues; and executive officers from the Traffic Area Office.
The LRB members' role is to collate information from sources such as the VI, police, Customs and DSS. They then have to decide which cases they will deal with, and which are serious enough to warrant referral to the TC for possible disciplinary action.
For example. genuine mistakes can be made, even in the best regulated organisations. If such a mistake is not serious no disciplinary steps will be recommended, but the operator may be required to take some action to avoid a repetition of the problem.
This will be dealt with by sending out a warning letter—and the Traffic Area Office
will expect a positive response from the operator, detailing what corrective action will be taken.
Operators who give such undertakings should take them seriously, because under the sentencing guidelines a much more serious view will be taken of repeated failings, particularly following the issue of a warning letter.