DRIVEN TO THE LIMIT

TOWN HAULAGE FIRM FOUND ‘SERIOUSLY NEGLIGENT’ AFTER INQUIRY INTO DRIVERS’ WORKING HOURS

A BEDWORTH haulage firm has had its licence suspended after drivers were found to be working long hours and missing rest breaks.

A public inquiry into working hours at Bedworth Haulage Co Ltd heard many drivers were “pushed to the limit” and that the firm had been “seriously negligent”.

The Exhall firm has now had its operator’s licence suspended for two weeks from June 1.

West Midlands traffic commissioner Nick Denton said the firm’s transport manager Robert Thacker’s reputation had been “severely tarnished” with the incident.

In his written decision notice Mr Denton said: “The operator’s sched- ules were at the limit of what was achievable within the rules so that if the slightest thing went wrong then drivers were bound to commit infringements.

“No back-up system to relieve drivers existed.

“Worse, either the company knew that drivers were taking insufficient daily and weekly rest and deliberately scheduled them to drive, or it had no systems in place to make sure that drivers took adequate rest.

“Neither explanation is creditable to the company, especially after it had given assurances on drivers’ hours at the June 2016 preliminary hearing.

“I find that the company has been seriously negligent on its oversight of drivers’ hours compliance.”

At the inquiry held in Edgbaston the company had its operator’s licence suspended for 14 days and the number of vehicles reduced from 42 to 30.

The Driving Vehicle Standards Agency investigated the company last year and found that maximum driving periods were being exceeded and daily or weekly rest rules had been breached. Several of the drivers were interviewed under caution and claimed to have been under pressure from the company to complete schedules which were difficult to fit in within the legal hours.

Robert Thacker denied putting drivers under pressure to complete schedules and some of the drivers involved in the infringements had since been dismissed.

Following the investigation, a public inquiry was called and six drivers from Bedworth Haulage Co Ltd were previously convicted of a total of 34 drivers’ hours offences in January.

Raymond Anderson, one of the firm’s drivers said in his evidence during the public inquiry that he had been “pushed to the limit” by the company.

Mr Anderson also claimed that on one occasion he had been on a 45-hour weekly rest but had been called in to do a job. He said that he was on a 45 hour rest but was wrongly told that he could take a 24 hour rest that week.

David Brain was a previous transport manager at the firm who was on the operator’s licence but many drivers reported having had no dealings with him.

Robert Thacker said he had not known that Mr Brain had removed himself as transport manager from the licence in June 2016. Following a meeting in December 2016, Mr Brain was dismissed.

Mr Denton added: “Matters appear to have been entrusted to David Brain who seems to have had no dealings with drivers at all. His failure to perform his duties went entirely undetected by Robert Thacker.”

During his evidence, Mr Thacker claimed that some of the firm’s schedules were tight as they carried fish which was perishable, but he said that if he had known that drivers were short of hours he would have sent someone out or gone himself to relieve them,

He said he had “taken his eye off the ball for a variety of reasons but things were better managed now.”

The company’s suspension will start from June 1 and end on June 15.