Key takeaways:
- CWM Transport’s licence authorised 16 vehicles and 10 trailers.
- DVSA recorded one truck 467 times over 58 days while it appeared to have no valid MOT.
- An unannounced inspection resulted in prohibitions for four of five trucks and one of three trailers checked.
- Investigators found widespread missing mileage and suspected falsified tachograph records.
- CWM Transport and its director have been indefinitely disqualified from holding an operator’s licence, although they may apply for the decision to be reconsidered.
The Traffic Commissioner’s written decision concerning CWM Transport Ltd was published on 17 August. The company held a standard international operator’s licence covering sites in Newbury, Abingdon and Thatcham and was authorised to operate 16 vehicles and 10 trailers.
The investigation began after DVSA identified repeated movements of one of the company’s vehicles, registration FE66 RUW. According to the decision, it was spotted on the public road network 467 times over 58 separate days between 1 December 2023 and 2 April 2024, while apparently being operated without a valid MOT.
When DVSA asked for an explanation, transport manager Lisa Murphy told the agency that the vehicle had only been moved in preparation for an MOT and to take it for the test.
Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney later rejected that explanation, describing it as a “barefaced lie” given the number of recorded journeys. The decision also states that another vehicle found during the investigation had been used on public roads for several months without road tax.
Four out of five trucks prohibited
DVSA carried out an unannounced fleet inspection in January 2025. Of five trucks and three trailers examined, four trucks and one trailer received prohibitions.
The investigation identified serious shortcomings in the company’s maintenance arrangements. Nearly two in five preventative maintenance inspections had been carried out late, in some cases by as much as 12 to 16 weeks.
The Commissioner said dangerous and safety-critical defects had also appeared on inspection records without being properly rectified, while vehicles were nevertheless signed off as roadworthy.
He described the condition of the fleet at the DVSA inspection as “shameful”, adding that the operation had become “a shambles”.
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Suspected attempts to conceal drivers’ hours breaches
Tachograph analysis uncovered extensive missing mileage and multiple suspected false-record events involving at least eight drivers, including company director Carl Wood.
According to the decision, investigators found strong indications that driver cards had been removed while vehicles were being driven in order to conceal working-time infringements and allow drivers to continue beyond permitted driving limits.
Six drivers were subsequently called to conduct hearings.
One driver, Lukasz Stawarz, had his vocational entitlement revoked and was disqualified from holding it until 24 October 2027, largely for using another driver’s card as well as driving without a card.
Director Carl Wood received an 18-week suspension of his vocational driving entitlement for driving off-card. Four other drivers received suspensions ranging from four to 12 weeks.
Company and director indefinitely disqualified
Neither CWM Transport nor its transport manager attended the public inquiry held in Bristol on 10 July.
The Commissioner concluded that there had been no effective management of compliance systems and described the failures as deliberate, saying they amounted to “planned and permitted negligence” with implications for both road safety and fair competition.
CWM Transport’s operator’s licence was therefore revoked with immediate effect.
The company and director Carl Wood were also disqualified indefinitely from applying for or holding a goods vehicle operator’s licence, although the order allows them to apply to a Traffic Commissioner for the disqualification to be reconsidered.
Transport manager Lisa Murphy lost her good repute and was disqualified from acting as a transport manager for 12 months. Before returning to the role, she must also demonstrate at least three months of learning alongside a competent transport manager.
