Roadside check on a five-day charter with a hired trailer
A company runs a five-day charter, Oslo - Trondheim - Bergen, with a leased 16-seat minibus (maximum authorised mass 5,000 kg, registered for 16 passengers) towing a hired box trailer with a maximum authorised mass of 900 kg. The driver, aged 34, holds a category D1 licence issued in 2018 with a code 95 entry. The company file shows he has completed 21 of the 35 hours of periodic training required in the five-year period, which ends in March. The tachograph vehicle unit was last downloaded seven months ago; the driver downloads his own card every 28 days. The driver carries the registration document, the insurance certificate, the transport licence for hire and reward, his driving licence and his driver card. At the roadside check the inspector also notes that the towbar is rated for 1,500 kg. The driver says the trailer 'only weighs about 600 kg empty'.
1. List the infringements and explain the legal basis for each one.
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Wrong licence category. Category D1 allows a trailer of at most 750 kg maximum authorised mass. This trailer's MAM is 900 kg, so the combination requires D1E, whatever the trailer actually weighs on the day. 'It only weighs 600 kg empty' is irrelevant - licence categories are based on maximum authorised mass, not on the load at the moment of the check. The towbar rating of 1,500 kg is also irrelevant; the towbar being strong enough does not make the licence sufficient.
Driver CPC not valid. 21 of the required 35 hours of periodic training have been completed, so the code 95 entry is not backed by a valid qualification for the current five-year period. Driving a minibus for hire and reward without valid CPC is not permitted, and the operator must not use that driver.
Tachograph download overdue. The vehicle unit must be downloaded by the operator at least every 90 days; seven months is a clear breach. The driver's own 28-day card download appears to be in order.
No infringement arises from the vehicle itself: 900 kg behind a 5,000 kg minibus is within the towing capacity and the combination stays below 12,000 kg.
2. Whose responsibility is each finding - driver or operator - and what are the practical consequences?
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Driver: holding the correct licence category for the vehicle combination actually being driven, keeping the driver card in the unit and using it correctly, downloading the card every 28 days, keeping CPC current, and refusing to take out a combination he is not licensed for. A professional driver is expected to check the trailer's MAM before coupling, and 900 kg is printed on the plate.
Operator: downloading the vehicle unit every 90 days, checking that drivers hold valid licences and CPC before allocating work, keeping the records, and not causing or allowing infringements. The transport licence and insurance sit with the operator.
Consequences: the driver can be fined and prohibited from continuing with that combination until a D1E-licensed driver takes over; the operator faces fines and, for repeated or serious breaches, loss of good repute, which threatens the transport licence itself. In practice the roadside check also triggers a company audit of tachograph downloads and CPC records, so one trailer can expose the whole operation.
3. What documents must be on board for this trip, and what should the driver and company do before the next leg?
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On board: a valid driving licence with the correct category (D1E for this combination) and the code 95 entry, the driver card, the vehicle registration document, proof of insurance, the transport licence for hire and reward, and tachograph records - the current day plus the previous 28 days, whether on the card or as printouts. For a cross-border element, also carry evidence of the driver's employment and the posting/attestation paperwork where applicable.
Before the next leg: the trailer must be unhitched or a D1E-licensed driver must take over; the driver must be taken off hire-and-reward work until the remaining 14 CPC hours are completed; and the operator must download the vehicle unit immediately and put a 90-day routine in place with a named person responsible.
Also check the trailer's MAM against the minibus's permitted towing capacity and the combination's plated limits, and confirm the load is secured and the nose weight is within the towbar limit. The lesson to take from the check is that licence, CPC and download dates are all things that can be verified in the office before departure - the roadside check should never be the first time anyone looks.