Traffic commissioners understand that businesses, like yours, live in challenging times.

That’s why they regulate for the benefit of you and every other operator, whether you are running lorries, buses or coaches.

It’s their task to protect all operators.

Margins are tight and, regrettably, that’s often when some operators end up breaking the rules.

Recently the London and South East Traffic Commissioner, Sarah Bell, told two bus firms “this is not how we do things”.

In part three of our series, we look at the key issues from this case.

Miss Bell’s decision makes several important points:

• Material changes, such as financial difficulties, should be notified to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner when they are known about
• Links between businesses should be properly disclosed – traffic commissioners need to be able to trust the business named on the O licence
• Documents available on GOV.UK set out the processes, legislation and regulations that all O licence holders need to follow
• Forms and public guidance aren’t just administrative paperwork – they are the bedrock for commissioners to ensure road safety and fair competition
• All directors of companies across Great Britain have a statutory duty to exercise independent judgement, skill, care and diligence