Road

We work collaboratively across various disciplines and specialisms to ensure our clients receive the advice they need, when they need it, from a team who know their sector intimately.

Our understanding of the road industry goes beyond interpretation of legal conventions, rules and regulations and extends to practical and operational expertise emanating from years of working in partnership with road industry leaders.

Risk management, risk avoidance and brand protection are at the heart of our offering. Our specialist team offers innovative, practical and commercial strategic solutions to the issues which affect your road business.

Key corporate clients include:

• National Express
• FirstGroup
• Stagecoach
• Oxalis
• Turners (Soham)
• Samworth Brothers
• Brit European

Specialist knowledge

We recognise that operating vehicles brings a host of challenges that are often woven across various specialisms, rather than falling neatly into one category or another.  We understand that issues arising can significantly impact upon your operations and we have specialists on hand who can help.

Alongside a wider team of experts, Chris Powell, Elliott Kenton and Nick Newman assist clients in the complex world of road transport by taking a collaborative and sector-based approach to finding solutions to their clients’ problems, whilst also giving joined-up proactive advice and training to help prevent problems occurring in the first place.

If the worst happens, and your business is facing a Public Inquiry, a Health & Safety Prosecution or an Employment Tribunal Claim, the team are on hand to assist and support by ensuring specialist advice is given at the right time, at the right price and with the right level of expertise to achieve the best outcomes.

Our team’s work includes:

• Advising a large operator on the nuanced issues of drivers using medically prescribed cannabis, giving consideration to matters arising from the Equality Act, the operator’s obligations under the Health & Safety at Work Act and also the regulatory framework governed by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.
• Advising a large PCV operator on a variety of diverse issues such as their obligations to the Traffic Commissioner when an employee resigns prior to the conclusion of an investigation, and how to try and avoid that in the first instance by appropriately educating both drivers and managers.
• Advising on an operator’s ability to divert services during civil unrest and the knock implications on punctuality statistics.
• Advising a logistics provider on a complex whistleblowing matter involving concerns of ‘bad faith’ and the need to ensure that the business ‘got ahead’ of issues that may have been raised to the regulator by the whistleblower.
• Representing a client in the logistics sector with a Public Inquiry, the best outcome of which was more likely if certain employment related decisions were made in advance of the hearing, balancing the risk of Employment Tribunal Claims against the ‘worst-case’ scenario of the loss of their O-Licence.
• Advising a leading PCV operator following a high-profile incident involving a fatality, which is currently under investigation by both the police and the Traffic Commissioner. We have been providing the client with on-demand advice on liability, notification requirements and represented them before the regulators. 
• Undertaking a legally privileged internal investigation for a HGV operator following a road traffic incident against the backdrop of similar incidents. 
• Advising a significant PCV operator across a broad spectrum of issues following the identified needs to reorganise and restructure the business, including a review of the workforce and a strategised approach to modernising various areas of the business, whilst at the same time handling a number of senior management issues and associated spin-off projects. 
• Advising a medicines delivery company on the acquisition of a strategic supplier.
• Advising a specialist owned logistics provider operating across a range of markets including off site construction and modular buildings, agricultural equipment and heavy plant and wide/abnormal load in connection with the share purchase of a transport company and associated Real Estate issues.
• Advising a large operator on a multi-million pound logistics contract with a multi-national player in the energy sector.
• Advising on a variety of bus industry matters including Enhanced Partnership arrangements and Quality Partnership Schemes – drafting the same and advising on compliance with DfT guidance.
• Advising a public authority on its standard contract for subsidised bus services, and supporting a public authority in establishing a Dynamic Purchasing System for procurement of bus services.
• Acting for West of England Combined Authority on its contracts for Demand Responsive transport services, part of its Future Transport Zone programme of innovative local transport projects, advising on procurement, contract/commercial, regulatory and subsidy control matters.

Training

The team provide bespoke training sessions on a myriad of topics including but not limited to Mock Public Inquiries, matters falling under the Jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunals, Health & Safety prosecutions and prevention strategies and many more.

Products

Our team has developed a number of products which can assist operators in their risk management and compliance journeys. For example, our Transport Manager Comply product will guide your team in identifying areas of non-compliance within your fleet management operations – so you can address issues before it’s too late.

Personal injury

Our specialist road personal injury team commonly deals with fatal accident, injury and related loss claims, including Coroner's Court inquests. As part of Weightmans' value-added services to clients, we also provide bespoke on-site training on the latest Health & Safety legislation. Our market-leading dedicated disease unit focuses on all occupational conditions, including short and long tail liability claims in both an EL and PL context.

Debt Recovery

We also provide more general, cost effective solutions to simple debt recovery issues.

Multimodal expertise

We have experts within aviation, maritime and rail, meaning that if you operate within a multimodal environment, we have the expertise available to assist all areas of your business. Learn more about our transport and logistics expertise.