“Absolute nonsense”: Welsh operator cut to one vehicle over brake-test failings

SA Autos & Recovery Ltd, based in Haverfordwest, held a standard national goods vehicle operator’s licence for two vehicles and two trailers. Following a public inquiry in Pontypridd, Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney curtailed the licence to just one vehicle and one trailer for at least three months.

The decision, which took effect from 6 June 2026, followed serious adverse findings against the operator. Any bid to restore the full licence will need to be backed by a comprehensive independent audit showing a high level of compliance, as well as evidence that all equipment is being subject to laden roller brake testing.

The case began to unravel after DVSA looked into the operator’s maintenance systems. According to the written decision, the company had already received a strong warning letter in November 2024 after an unsatisfactory DVSA desk-based assessment. The operator later commissioned a compliance audit in July 2025, but the Traffic Commissioner said that audit appeared “of concern” when viewed against a more recent DVSA investigation.

That later investigation was triggered by an S-marked prohibition notice issued to a trailer over an inoperative anti-lock brake warning light sequence and inoperative ABS. DVSA then carried out a maintenance investigation in November 2025, covering 13 individual compliance areas. Only four were found to be satisfactory.

The Commissioner’s decision paints an even starker picture of the operator’s record. Rooney said SA Autos & Recovery had a 60% prohibition rate, while annual test performance was described as “even more dire”. Out of four MOT presentations detailed in the report, only one passed first time, and even that test included advisories and a minor fail.

The public inquiry also heard about a September 2025 DVSA encounter at Coldra on the M4 near Newport, when director Sean Allen was driving an articulated combination. Both the unit and trailer were prohibited. The unit had a defective indicator and tyre defects, while the trailer had ABS problems and warning-light issues.

Rooney was particularly unimpressed by the way the indicator defect had apparently been dealt with. According to the decision, the driver “repaired” the indicator by tapping it, as he had done at the start of the journey. The Commissioner dryly noted that such a repair was “unlikely to be a long-term one”.

The decision also refers to another director, Christopher Allen, being stopped by DVSA in August 2024 in a vehicle that was overloaded, missing a registration plate and had a defective brake light. Rooney described the two directors as a “model of leadership in how NOT to do it”.

But the sharpest language was reserved for brake testing: the operator had put forward a risk assessment for not carrying out laden brake tests on the car transporter. Rooney rejected that argument, noting that the company was carrying end-of-life vehicles — in other words, what he described as “perfect ballast” for a roller brake test.

He added that there were “countless” roller brake testers along the M4 between west Wales and Avonmouth.

Rooney said he read the risk assessment as effectively saying: “I can be sure that the brakes are working as intended because it would be mildly inconvenient to check that they are and it might cost me a few quid.”

His verdict was blunt:

“What absolute nonsense.”

The Commissioner ordered the operator to introduce laden brake testing of all equipment, adding that other operators should take note too. A risk assessment, he said, must explain how a technician can certify that every part of every braking system is working as intended — not simply say that finding out would be a nuisance.

The company avoided revocation, but only narrowly. Rooney judged the case to be severe, citing the poor history and what he called the “cynical risk-taking” of both directors.

The one factor that helped the operator was its current transport manager, Kelly Richards, who was appointed in December 2025 after the issues under investigation. Rooney said he could trust the operator only because of her presentation at the public inquiry.

The former transport manager, Dennis Nelder, also came under scrutiny. Rooney found that his good repute was “tarnished but intact” and issued him with a formal warning, saying external transport managers must be in control of the operations they are attached to — or resign.