A haulage boss who was put under "immense strain" due to a debilitating eye problem, has escaped with a formal warning at a public inquiry.
A SEMTA hearing in Eastbourne heard how Martyn Moseley, of Leyton, east London-based Trident Continental Transport, had scaled back the operation to a reduced service between February 2006 and August 2008, coinciding with a period when he had been "registered blind".
Chris Ballantyne, vehicle examiner for VOSA, told the hearing that between 2006 and 2008, Trident, which had a licence for five vehicles and five trailers, had picked up six prohibition notices.
These included trucks and trailers with brake problems and loose wheelnuts.
Between April 2004 and March 2009, the company had also recorded an MOT initial pass rate of 50% against the national average of 67.5%.
Moseley, who is also director of Coventry-based Midas International, told the hearing: "In 2006, I decided to shut down the operation [in Leyton] because of my ill-health at that time.
"We shut up shop as I was undergoing treatment and had about half-a-dozen operations."The company, which had previously had its tacho charts analysed by outside experts, had during this time, also switched to a system where this was being carried out by staff.
Moseley added that the company had since purchased a rolling road to enable it to rigorously test vehicles for any brake defects.
Deputy Traffic Commissioner Mary Kane issued a formal warning and ordered Moseley to undertake an O-licence refresher course, as well as introduce formal, annual training procedures for drivers.