The trial of six people accused of fraudulently carrying out D4 driver medicals has been put back by a year due to intense caseloads within the court system, writes Chris Tindall.
An investigation by the DVLA and Swansea Trading Standards into the defendants working for Doctors on Wheels stretches back to 2019, when concerns were raised about the way in which the medical assessments of professional drivers were being conducted.
It was alleged that the medicals were not being completed properly, with unhealthy drivers being passed as fit to drive.
It subsequently led to raids on the firm’s offices in Swindon, Leicester and Huddersfield and a DVLA ban on Doctors on Wheels carrying out any more D4 medicals.
In an email from a Trading Standards enforcement officer, it said the trial against the six defendants would now not go-ahead as planned.
“We have been told that this is due to the fact that many courts have closed and there has been an increase in caseloads being put through Swansea Crown Court,” the email said.
“The trial time has also increased from four to six weeks.”
It added that a new trial date had been set as 2 March 2026. Dr Grant Charlesworth-Jones, the owner of D4Drivers, said: “Every day that goes by drivers are being signed off as fit to drive by rogue outfits when they are simply not – this creates a massive, developing road safety risk, which is absolutely intolerable.”
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