Haulier loses licence after “deeply cynical” abuse of emergency drivers’ hours rules 

A haulier from Bicester has been banned from running trucks for two years after a Traffic Commissioner found he had routinely abused emergency drivers’ hours rules: running drivers on shifts of up to 17 hours and dismissing safety concerns with the line: “that’s just how it was done”.

Robert Alan Gassor held a standard national goods vehicle operator licence in the Western traffic area, authorised for two vehicles and two trailers from an operating centre near Bicester. He had applied to expand to five vehicles and five trailers. Instead, Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney refused the application, revoked the licence and disqualified Gassor from holding or applying for an operator licence until 23 May 2028.

The case turned on tanker work in the liquid-waste sector. Gassor argued the jobs fell under emergency exemptions from normal drivers’ hours rules. Rooney did not accept that argument.

Tachograph data did not match the logbooks

DVSA found significant gaps between tachograph records and weekly logbooks. In one instance, a vehicle started moving at 04:11 and made its final movement at 19:09. The logbook recorded ten hours.

On a 23-day job near Port Talbot, Rooney asked why the vehicles had not been double-shifted and why drivers had worked 15- and 17-hour shifts. Gassor’s response, according to the decision, was that “that’s just how it was done”.

The most striking entry involved a single driver who clocked 17 hours and 44 minutes on duty, broke for 6 hours and 25 minutes, then went straight into another 17 hours and 7 minutes. Gassor described this as the standard “18 on, 6 off” pattern used by water companies, and said it was safe.

Rooney disagreed. He ruled the emergency exemption had been “routinely and systematically abused” and called the approach to road safety “deeply cynical”.

An arson attack, but no police report

The decision also flagged missing records, poor maintenance and questions over driver employment status. Gassor claimed some paperwork had been destroyed when an arson attack hit a garden shed used as an office. He had not reported the attack to police.

Maintenance came in for sharp criticism too. A 27-year-old vehicle went from 7 June to 5 October 2025 without a full inspection, despite DVSA guidance that vehicles over 12 years old should normally be checked every six weeks.

Gassor also lost his good reputation as transport manager. He is barred from acting as one until 23 May 2027 and cannot return until he re-sits and passes the transport manager qualification.