The Deputy Traffic Commissioner in the North East of England, Gerallt Evans, has revoked the operator's licence held by BTW Transport Ltd following a public inquiry that revealed extensive and repeated failures in vehicle maintenance, driver management, and regulatory compliance.
The inquiry concluded that the company, under the sole directorship of Byron Thomas Williams, showed a catalogue of errors and attempts to mislead.
Most seriously, Mr Williams consciously and deliberately allowed the operator's vehicles to continue in use for three weeks when he knew the operator's licence had been revoked on the 6th of November 2024. Even though Mr Williams was contesting that decision, he also knew that he had no authority to continue using the vehicles. He knowingly allowed vehicles to operate without valid excise duty, gaining unfair commercial advantage.
There were also inaccurate PMI records with references to components not fitted to the vehicles and there was no evidence of auditing or review of these records, an absence of brake efficiency testing after brake components were changed, indeed a lack of consistent brake testing in line with the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness. Defects found during PMIs were not reported by drivers and drivers submitted "nil" defect reports despite vehicles having serious faults.
In addition, serious tyre issues were found including multiple prohibitions issued for defective tyres, including "S" marked prohibitions (indicating serious safety risks).
So acute were the problems that in one roadside encounter, a vehicle and trailer were issued with eight immediate prohibitions!
Off the road, a change of maintenance provider was not reported to the Traffic Commissioner, breaching licence conditions. Vehicles were not inspected at the agreed six-week intervals.
Commissioner Evans said "Mr Williams' evidence that at times was disingenuous. I consider that when challenged with difficult facts, he has a propensity to say the first thing that enters his mind to excuse or minimise the conduct alleged. That does not inspire confidence but is distinct from the behaviour of an individual who engages in calculated deception such as falsification of records."
As a result, the licence will be revoked effective 22 October 2025 at 23:45. The company is disqualified from holding or obtaining any operator's licence for 12 months, until 22 October 2026. Director Byron Williams is also disqualified from holding or being involved in any operator's licence for the same period and former Transport Manager Nichola Ogilvie has been found to have lost her good repute and is disqualified from acting as a transport manager until further order.
The full decision can be found here.
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