Tired truckie blames boss for long-haul crash

A truck driver who was told by his boss to keep driving despite clocking up too many hours behind the wheel later rolled the truck on a bend.

David William Cooze, 50, blamed the crash on fatigue as he had been on the road for more than 14 hours. He was trying to get from St Arnaud to Christchurch and back to Picton in a day using the alternate highway.

He said it was possible he had fallen asleep behind the wheel. He appeared at the Blenheim District Court yesterday charged with dangerous driving and exceeding 13 hours of work as a truck driver.

His lawyer, John Holdaway, said Cooze told his employer he would not be able to drive to Picton without breaking the law, but his boss told him to keep driving anyway.

He also told his employer that he had taken the electronic brake cable off the trailer as it was faulty, which meant he could only stop using the brakes on the truck. It was a criminal offence to disconnect the electronic brake cable.

‘‘He realises he should not have done that. But he told his employer, who said ‘if the wheels are still turning, then keep going’,’’ Holdaway said.

A police summary of facts said Cooze left St Arnaud at 10.45am on March 15, arriving in Christchurch about 4.15pm. He took a break before heading to Murchison, arriving about 10.30pm and he stopped again.

He went through Nelson and reached Renwick, just west of Blenheim, where he rolled his truck on a bend leaving the town.

Police inspected the truck and found the electronic brake cable in the truck’s side locker.

There were no skid marks leading up to the crash site, which showed no evasive action was taken by the driver, the summary said. Cooze was fired after the crash. He was fined and disqualified from driving a heavy vehicle for nine months. He had said he expected this to happen and would seek work in vineyards.