Highland Council given safety warning after wheel falls off vehicle and loose wheel nuts found on another

Press and Journal

22-05-2025

Several investigations were launched into the condition of Highland Council's vehicles after the wheel fell off one and loose wheel nuts were later found on another.
Scotland's Deputy Traffic Commissioner issued a 'formal warning' to the council's vehicle team after the two incidents and instances of failing to correctly report defects.
It is the council's second independent audit into their vehicle fleet in just over a year and could have led to a public inquiry into its vehicle conduct.
Committee councillors congratulated officers and welcomed their report stating the council had avoided the 'disaster' of a public inquiry.
However, other councillors have described the auditor's verdict and the near miss of an inquiry as 'anything but a clean bill of health.'
Back in 2021, the council suffered a 'wheel loss incident' with one of their vehicles in Lochaber.
That was noted by officials, but in 2023 the council were told a vehicle was not road worthy after an MOT revealed it had loose wheel nuts and another had suspension issues.
Despite the issues being 'rectified immediately' the DVSA decided to conduct a 'more thorough investigation' given the 'seriousness' of the faults.
This resulted in an independent audit on the council's fleet operations in May last year.
After the initial investigation, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, Hugh Olson, issued a 'formal warning,' questioning the council's operating procedure for vehicles.
A second independent audit was subsequently conducted in February of this year.
The latest independent audit was conducted by Logistics UK and was returned to the council in March.
Several 'urgent' actions issued to the council included an overhaul of the council's 'defect reporting process' for vehicles.
These actions included a review of the 'control and compliance of drivers,' part of which involved the process of checking driver licences.
The audit also revealed the council does not have a 'formal' drugs and alcohol policy, which includes random testing for their drivers and vehicle staff.
Further actions for the council to take included multiple policy reviews and various continued checks on the council's seven vehicle workshops.
Another independent audit must be completed by the August 31 to judge improvements to the service.
The council is currently working on implementing a 'no defect, no repair' policy as part of their improvements to vehicle services.
Further training on driver licences and compliance has been issued and a drugs and alcohol policy remains on target for the next report in September.
On a UK government vehicle operations scoring system, Highland Council is still rated overall as 'low risk.'
Graham MacKenzie, chairman of Highland Council's communities and place committee, said the investigations are a 'significantly serious issue for the council.'
He added: 'It would not have been good to have been asked to attend a public inquiry in relation to this.'
He then thanked council officers for their work in avoiding further scrutiny.
Skye councillor Drew Millar said: 'I welcome this report and congratulations to the staff who did all the work to avert what could have potentially been a bit of a disaster.'
Speaking after the more positive comments in the chamber, Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson said the council's situation was 'anything but' a 'clean bill of health.
Councillor Macpherson, who has run car dealerships across the Highlands and Moray and managed MOT testing facilities, was watching the meeting online.
He said: 'Facing the prospect of having to appear up in front of the Traffic Commissioner, the council hurriedly took reparative action to correct their own faults and shortcomings on the way their fleet of vehicles was maintained.'
He compared the council's actions that of a private company and said in this situation the business owner in the Highlands would likely have been 'sanctioned and financially penalised.'
Mr Macpherson added the 'damning' report was 'genuinely bad news' and said the attempts to frame it as good news 'beggar belief.'
The council will provide a further update on progress to improve the service in September.