Key points:
- BRC Haulage’s licence was curtailed indefinitely from two vehicles to one after a public inquiry in Cambridge.
- DVSA found seriously underinflated tyres, deep tyre cuts and an insecure load, as well as weak systems for tyre checks and load security.
- The company must commission an independent compliance audit and prove its finances by 24 February 2027.
What the DVSA found
BRC Haulage has held a standard national operator licence since 2015. Its problems surfaced at the roadside. In January 2026, one of its vehicles received an immediate prohibition for seriously underinflated tyres and another for an insecure load. In 2024, a prohibition was issued for deep cuts in a tyre, and in 2023 an S-marked prohibition, which signals a significant maintenance failure, followed a lit engine malfunction lamp.
A DVSA maintenance investigation in February 2026 assessed 13 areas of the operator’s systems. Four were rated unsatisfactory and two were referred straight to the traffic commissioner. Tyre ages were not regularly recorded, evidence of brake testing was thin, and the company could not show any effective system for wheel security, tyre monitoring or load security training.
The case went to a public inquiry in Cambridge in August. In his written decision, Deputy Traffic Commissioner Rakesh Sharma curtailed the licence from two vehicles to one, effective 24 August 2026, with no end date.
Six mistakes that put the licence at risk
None of these failings involved speeding or driving without a card. They are the kind of gaps that can build up quietly in any small fleet:
- Not telling the regulator. The company failed to notify the traffic commissioner of a 2021 conviction for illegal waste activity, a matter relevant to its good repute.
- Treating tyres as an afterthought. Two separate prohibitions involved tyres, and the operator had no effective in-service tyre and wheel checks.
- No load security training. DVSA found no proper arrangements or training for drivers on securing loads.
- Misreading the brake test rules. The operator believed only four laden brake tests a year were needed. It has since moved to a laden test at every safety inspection and cut its inspection interval to six weeks, in line with the DVSA’s Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness.
- A transport manager on paper only. The former transport manager admitted missing safety recall checks and gaps in training and oversight. She received a written warning but kept her good repute.
- Broken promises. Undertakings to keep vehicles roadworthy, keep records for 15 months and have drivers report defects in writing were not honoured.
Why it was not worse
The deputy traffic commissioner called the case “very finely balanced” and classed it as serious to moderate. What tipped the balance was what the company did before the hearing: a new transport manager, more frequent inspections with laden brake tests, and additional financial evidence.
Other operators have not been so lucky this autumn. One haulier lost 10 trucks after 10,535 km driven without driver cards, and another was shut down after 1,076 days without a tachograph download.
BRC Haulage now has until 24 February 2027 to submit bank statements from November 2026 to January 2027 showing the required average balance, and an independent audit of its safety and compliance systems, along with a plan for putting its recommendations in place.
