SRB Express Ltd, which held a licence for three vehicles and three trailers, lost its licence with effect from 2 July 2026. Sole director and transport manager Alexander Beric was also disqualified for 12 months from holding or obtaining an operator’s licence and from acting as a transport manager.
The Deputy Traffic Commissioner described the case as “severe”, citing ineffective management, poor maintenance controls and the company’s decision to operate from a site that had not been authorised.
MOT failure rate nearly five times national average
A DVSA maintenance investigation carried out in December 2025 found that SRB Express had an initial MOT failure rate of 53.85%, compared with a national average of 11.76%. Its final failure rate stood at 38.46%.
The operator had also received two immediate prohibitions, relating to tyre damage and a lighting defect, as well as two delayed prohibitions concerning spray suppression and tinted windows.
Inspection records raised further concerns. Some did not contain the maintenance provider’s name, brake percentages or handbrake figures, while brake-test reports were unavailable in some cases.
Of eight safety inspections examined by the authorities, none was fully compliant, and all contained issues or omissions relating to brake testing. Several inspections had also been carried out late.
Trucks parked at unauthorised operating centre
SRB Express’s authorised operating centre was in Leicester, but the company had stopped using it after winning a new contract in Dover in March 2025.
Instead, its vehicles were parked at premises belonging to Coombe Valley Transport in Dover.
Beric later told the authorities that he did not initially realise the seriousness of operating from a different location and believed the company could use the site for three months without making an application.
The company subsequently applied to add the Dover site to its licence, but the application was refused after Beric failed to answer outstanding questions from the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.
The Deputy Traffic Commissioner concluded that operating from the unauthorised site had been a deliberate act that gave the business an unfair commercial advantage.
Drivers misunderstood ferry-mode rules
A separate DVSA traffic examination in January 2026 uncovered problems with drivers’ hours compliance.
Investigators identified ten apparent offences involving insufficient daily rest, six of which concerned Beric himself.
The company’s drivers and transport manager appeared to have misunderstood the rules covering interruptions to rest periods during ferry or train journeys.
One double-manned journey had also not been recorded correctly, meaning neither driver achieved the required minimum rest.
DVSA further found that tachograph printouts were not routinely produced and there was no evidence of an effective warning or disciplinary system.
Transport manager loses good repute
Beric was both the sole director of SRB Express and its nominated transport manager.
The Deputy Traffic Commissioner found failures across driver administration, driver management, vehicle administration and vehicle management, concluding that he had not exercised continuous and effective control over the operation.
The decision also noted that Beric had already received a strong formal warning in April 2025 in connection with another operator, M&M International Transport Ltd, where he also acted as transport manager.
His good repute was therefore removed, triggering a mandatory minimum 12-month disqualification from acting as a transport manager.
He was separately disqualified for the same period from holding an operator’s licence, acting as a director of an operator or holding a controlling interest in such a company.
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Operator accepted licence revocation
Ahead of the public inquiry on 11 June, SRB Express informed the Office of the Traffic Commissioner that it would not oppose revocation of its licence.
Beric did not attend the hearing because he was driving one of the company’s authorised vehicles on the continent, and the case proceeded on the written evidence.
The company had previously offered to reduce its authorisation voluntarily from three vehicles to one, with Beric driving the remaining truck himself.
However, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner found that the scale of the compliance failures, lack of financial standing and loss of the transport manager’s good repute meant revocation was mandatory.
SRB Express’s Standard International Goods Vehicle Operator’s Licence was revoked from 2 July 2026.
