ARC in court over 0-licences
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• ARC has pleaded guilty to four charges of allowing its 0licence to be used on privately owned LGVs. On Tuesday (19 July) it was fined £1,288 with £100 costs; the maximum penalty could have been £10,000, Five owner-drivers working for ARC Central also appeared before Melton Mowbray magistrates and pleaded guilty to having no 0-licences, but they were not fined.
The company and drivers were treated leniently because of the growing confusion surrounding 0-licence requirements for contracted owner-drivers.
John Earnshaw, prosecuting for the VI's Eastern Traffic Area, says: "This is a fairly widespread problem and by no means limited to ARC. When the company sold off its fleet to owner-drivers, five years ago, some of them were unable to obtain their own 0-licences.
"ARC apparently took the view that as the drivers were under contract to them, they could use the 0-licence issued to the company," he says. "This practice is illegal."
ARC says: "There is a strict company rule that our 0-licence is used only on company vehicles. Clearly what we need to do now is ensure that our local managers understand this and work within the law."