David William Dyer, a sole trader authorised for five vehicles, has been disqualified from holding or applying for an operator’s licence for 12 months. His restricted goods vehicle operator’s licence was revoked with effect from 10 April 2026, according to a written decision by Deputy Traffic Commissioner A.R. Seculer.
The case followed DVSA checks after two vehicles were hit with numerous S-marked prohibitions at annual test in April 2025. A maintenance investigation later found that only two of 13 assessed areas avoided an unsatisfactory or “report to OTC” rating.
The findings were damning. DVSA said 39% of preventative maintenance inspections were late, while 100% of records were non-compliant because no brake assessments had been carried out on the vehicles checked. There was also no proper driver defect reporting system, no forward planner, and no effective wheel and tyre management procedure.
The operator’s test record was far worse than the national average. The decision cites an initial MOT failure rate of 60%, compared with a national average of 10.56%, and a final failure rate of 53.33%, compared with 7.13%.
The Deputy Traffic Commissioner also found that the operator had continued to use a sole trader licence while trading through a separate limited company, DWD Waste Services Ltd, which did not hold an operator’s licence.
The case then widened further. The decision states that Dyer had allowed his brother, Steven Dyer, to use his vehicle and operator’s licence for a separate skip business, even though Steven Dyer did not hold an operator’s licence. Dyer told the inquiry the vehicle had been hired verbally and accepted: “this shouldn’t have happened.”
The Deputy Traffic Commissioner described this as a severe breach of trust.
In the decision, Seculer said Dyer’s compliance history was poor, his documentation unreliable, and his respect for the operator licensing system too weak. The operator’s conduct was placed in the “severe” category.
Seculer said the answer to whether the operator should be put out of business was “firmly yes”.
The ruling also warned that if Dyer applies for a new licence after the 12-month disqualification, a standard licence requiring a qualified transport manager would be “appropriate and necessary”.
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