Richard Turfitt, Traffic Commissioner for the Eastern traffic area

Richard Turfitt took up his appointment as Traffic Commissioner for the Eastern Traffic Area on 1 May 2008.

Richard qualified as a barrister in 1993 (Middle Temple) and undertook pupillage at 3 Temple Gardens (now 4 Breams Building) and then 2 Hare Court (now 2 Bedford Row), concentrating on work before the criminal courts. He left independent practice in 1997 to prosecute on behalf of the Departments of Social Security and Health before moving to the Treasury Solicitor’s Department in 1998 to undertake personal injury litigation and was also responsible for managing the representation of the Prison Service at inquests throughout England and Wales.

He was recruited by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at the end of 1999 and helped establish the HSE’s Litigation and Enforcement Advisory Team. In that role he was responsible for the conduct of HSE’s highest profile prosecutions, its appellate cases, the management of its solicitor agents and counsel, advising on enforcement policy and the development of guidance including the drafting of a web-based Enforcement Guide as well as delivering training through the University of Warwick. Richard also helped to found the Health and Safety Lawyers’ Association and is a serving Justice of the Peace.

Beverley Bell, Traffic Commissioner for the North Western traffic area

Born in Nigeria Beverley Bell spent her early years in Africa and the Middle East but eventually settled at school at Merchant Taylor’s Girls’ School in Crosby. She left there to read law at Liverpool University obtaining her law degree with honours in 1981 and then qualifying as a solicitor in 1985.

Having worked in private practice dealing with all types of contentious work she then established her own practice in 1990 specialising in Criminal and Transport Law.

Beverley was appointed as Traffic Commissioner for the North West Traffic Area in April 2000. At that time she was the first female and the youngest Commissioner to be appointed. As a specialist industry regulator Beverley is keen to promote an industry that does not always have the public image that it deserves. Beverley focuses on two key aspects of her work, namely, conducting public inquiries to ensure the safe operation of commercial vehicles and their drivers on the roads and attending industry events to explain the purpose of her role more fully and to actively promote initiatives to drive up standards such as training, continuous development, auditing, monitoring and the like.

Beverley is currently the Acting Statutory Senior Traffic Commissioner and will fulfil the role until a permanent post holder is recruited.

Since her appointment she has become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Fellow of the Society of Operations Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a Governor of Merchant Taylors Schools

Kevin Rooney, Traffic Commissioner for the North Eastern traffic area

Kevin graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Automotive Engineering in 1987. He joined the Department for Transport to develop policy relating to vehicle secondary safety before moving to the Transport Research Laboratory to research the roadwear effects of heavy trucks and then to the Vehicle Certification Agency where he applied homologation standards on new vehicles.

During a long period with the Vehicle Inspectorate and VOSA, Kevin managed the introduction of the first MoT emission tests, diesel smoke tests and implemented world class standards of quality assurance for commercial vehicle testing. Latterly, he lead the programme to upgrade VOSA’s enforcement processes including introducing risk scores for operators, near real-time access to data for enforcement officers, new sanctions such as detention of unlicensed vehicles and roadside graduated fixed penalties, deposits and physical immobilisation.

Kevin has worked extensively as a consultant to new Member States and neighbouring countries to align their processes to best-practice road safety levels. He was a founder-Director of the Confederation of Organisations in Road Transport Enforcement during which it grew to comprise membership from control authorities across more than 30 countries; representing the views of enforcers to the European Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. In a ground-breaking move, he set up a leading EU project with partners across control authorities and vehicle operators to establish minimum training levels for control officers, with the aim of achieving a common approach to roadside checks.

Nick Jones, Traffic Commissioner for the West Midland and Wales traffic area

Nick Jones was appointed as Traffic Commissioner for the Welsh Traffic Area and the West Midland Traffic Area offices on 1 May 2007.

He was educated at Cotham Grammar School in Bristol and graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Leicester in 1976. A barrister, a member of Gray’s Inn and called to the Bar in 1977.

In more recent years he was awarded an MA in Management and HRD from the University of Central England. He is also a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

For much of his working life Nick Jones was a chief officer in the magistrates’ courts service and served as a justices’ chief executive and/or as a justices’ clerk in West Yorkshire (based in Halifax) and latterly in West Mercia (which covers Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.)

As a chief officer he was considered as someone who was both experienced and successful in the introduction of quality control systems and in the management of change.

Nick has had much experience in facilitating and working in partnerships with other agencies. As Project Sponsor for the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Pathfinder Project for Magistrates’ Courts, he played a key role in facilitating new PFI serviced accommodation for courts in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

He has for over a decade been a member of NACRO’s National Race Issues Advisory Committee. He has been responsible for introducing the first training for members of the local advisory committees who make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor on the appointment and conduct of lay magistrates’. He also ran some of the first regional training courses for what were then the management boards for local courts.

Nick worked in the magistrates’ courts service in Nottinghamshire, Kent, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and West Mercia. For 2 years prior to this appointment as Traffic Commissioner, he worked as a senior crown prosecutor in Birmingham and Hereford.

For much of his time as a chief officer Nick had been responsible for training staff and magistrates’ on law, including road traffic law.

Sarah Bell, Traffic Commissioner for the Western traffic area

Sarah Bell was appointed Traffic Commissioner for the Western Traffic Area commencing on 12 June 2007.

She qualified as a solicitor with Moore & Blatch in 1993 and apart from a four year gap early in her career remained there until she started her present appointment.

Sarah grew up on the south coast of Ireland and then returned to England to attended Weymouth Grammar School for ‘O’ Levels and Clayesmore School for ‘A’ levels. After a gap year working at Daimler Benz in Stuttgart she took a 2:1 in law and completed her Law Finals at what is now London Guildhall University.

Sarah was made a partner in Moore & Blatch in May 2003. She headed up the marine department and co-headed the regulatory department. Since starting with the firm as an articled clerk in 1991 she represented clients in the criminal courts on road traffic matters. Moore & Blatch are panel solicitors for the Road Haulage Association.

From 1999 until 2007 a large part of her practice involved representing the interests of haulage operators, their directors and drivers in the criminal courts, at public inquiry before traffic commissioners and the then Transport Tribunal. Sarah also prosecuted complex cases for the Health & Safety Executive during that period.

As well as conducting public inquiries, driver conduct hearings and determining licensing applications, Sarah attends a number of speaking engagements for the trade bodies and wider partners. Since May 2011 Sarah has been the Lead Traffic Commissioner for Olympic and Paralympic Games Delivery.

Sarah Bell other interests include all water sports, travel, Harley Davidson’s and horse riding.

Joan Aitken, Traffic Commissioner for Scotland

Joan Aitken was appointed as full time Traffic Commissioner for Scotland in March 2003.

Prior to her appointment she was the Scottish Prison Complaints Commissioner (Ombudsman) from 1999. She has served as a part time Chairman of the Employment Tribunals, Disability Appeal Tribunals and Child Support Appeal Tribunals in Scotland.

As a solicitor she has practised both in private practice and local government. Joan Aitken is a former member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and for many years was editor of that Society’s Journal. She is a former member of the Scottish Consumer. From 1994 to 2009 she served as the lay member for Scotland on the General Dental Council and was the first lay chair of its Preliminary Proceedings Committee (Investigations Committee). She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Nick Denton, Traffic Commissioner for the South Eastern and Metropolitan traffic area

Nick Denton took up his appointment as Traffic Commissioner for the South Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Area on 26 March 2012.

He joined the Civil Service in 1985, after a short spell in teaching. In a variegated career, he has worked as private secretary to the Leader of the House of Commons; drafted proposals for EU road safety legislation on secondment to the European Commission; negotiated EU single market transport legislation for four years as the UK’s transport attaché at UKREP Brussels; and achieved increased air traffic rights for UK airlines in bilateral negotiations with African, Middle Eastern and Eastern European states.

More recently, he spent three years in Montreal as the UK’s permanent representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, negotiating technical security and safety standards for airports and aircraft. Since January 2011, he has headed the Department for Transport’s Freight Policy and Lorry Charging Division, where he developed the detailed proposals for HGV road user charging and introduced the trial of longer semi-trailers.

Nick’s first degree was in history; he has professional qualifications in French and German and an MSc in Transport Planning and Management.