The Senior Traffic Commissioner, Beverley Bell has recently outlined the responsibilities expected of Transport Managers and the hours they should work. The revised Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Statutory Guidance was published on 14 December 2015 following an industry consultation and takes effect on 1 January 2016. The Guidance highlights the activities a transport manager may be expected to carry out. This includes managing, auditing and reviewing compliance systems; reviewing prohibitions or annual test failures; notifying the TC of any changes; and staying abreast of changes in legislation. The new document also states what Traffic Commissioners expect in terms of hours worked by a Transport Manager. This ranges from 2 to 4 hours each week for a small fleet of 1 to 2 vehicles to full time with additional assistance for transport operators running more than 50 vehicles. It is worth taking time to review the new guidance as Traffic Commissioners licence and regulate in England, Scotland and Wales for:

• Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) operators
• Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators
• Large Good Vehicle (LGV) vocational drivers
• Passenger-carrying Vehicle (PCV) vocational drivers

Descartes SmartCompliance solutions save Transport Managers time and potential headaches. SmartCompliance includes Smartanalysis, tachograph analysis software to manage compliance with drivers' hours and tachograph regulations and SmartLicence for driving licence verification with DVLA.