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.

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 seen by Motor Transport from a Trading Standards enforcement officer, it said the trial against the six defendants would now not go ahead next month 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.

The investigation centred on how D4 medical forms were being completed.

The investigation centred on how D4 medical forms were being completed.

Source: Shutterstock

Dr. Grant Charlesworth-Jones, the owner of D4Drivers, said the joint investigation exposed a lack of regulatory authority within the sector:

“We first brought this issue to the attention of Trading Standards in 2019; thereafter the General Medical Council has struck off the doctors involved,” he said.

“Courts, it seems, have passed the point of no return in scheduling trials - by the time the revised trial goes ahead, if it goes ahead, this will be seven years after the event.”

Dr Charlesworth-Jones added: “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.”

The DVLA confirmed the trial date had been postponed.