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Sutton & Son (St Helens) group managing director Andrew Palmer says the company is aiming to be the benchmark for safety after facing its third public inquiry since 1999.

The company was warned by North-west traffic commissioner Beverley Bell that most operators do not survive a fourth hearing. Cutting the company's licence from 175 to 117 vehicles, Bell said at the inquiry that if its drivers died or were seriously injured she would send a copy of her decision to the Health and Safety  Executive. She said the company had tried to persuade her it was still compliant through paperwork and letters, but was still attracting an unacceptable number of prohibitions and convictions.

Bell heard that the company did not dispute that it had been issued prohibitions and had convictions recorded, but it was doing what was required. It was pointed out the company's management team had extensively changed.

Bell said there had been such personnel changes that O-licensing had taken a back seat and that was unacceptable, but she felt Palmer would "get hold of the company by the scruff of its neck and shake it up to see what fell out".

Palmer says he felt Bell was "very supportive of me and the things that had been done and will be done."

He says the inquiry stemmed primarily from a prohibition Suttons attracted last summer. A driver was found to have failed to report a loose wheel-nut and was subsequently dismissed.

Drivers received training for defect  reporting in December 2006 and the company uses the FTA to audit procedures, Palmer tells Motor Transport.

"The new management team has a significant focus on safety," Palmer says. He adds: "We have no issue with compliance and enforcement in this industry. We are aiming to set the gold standard for safety."