1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
'Shocked' RF Fielding aims to fight licence revocation
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Has a management shake-up come too late to save RF Fielding following a revocation order? Sally Nash and Mike Jewell report.
BELEAGUERED CHESHIRE operator RF Fielding plans to appeal against the decision taken last week to revoke its 0-licence from midnight on 29 May.
North-Western TC Beverley Bell acted at the conclusion of a lengthy public inquiry after 43 Fielding drivers were convicted of breaking the hours and tachograph rules.
The company, which holds a licence for 105 vehicles and 128 trailers, is to appeal against the decision and the disqualification of its directors, with the exception of James Fielding, from holding or obtaining an 0-licence in any traffic area it also holds licences in Scotland and the West Midlands "We were shocked by the decision," says commercial director Dave Lowe. We want to win that appeal and our focus at the moment is maintaining continuity for our staff and customer base."
Last week RF Fielding made sweeping changes to its management structure. However, the move may have come too late for the ambient food consolidator. Announcing her decision, the TC said extensive investigations by Vosa in 2002 and 2003 led to convictions of a very serious nature against drivers employed by the company.
She was satisfied that neither the drivers nor the company had been particularly co-operative with Vosa during the investigation. She was also satisfied that the delays in the case were entirely due to the actions of the drivers and the company, which appeared anxious to delay matters as much as possible.
She also refuted claims by the company that supermarket RDCs were partly to blame for drivers fiddling their charts in order to carry out all the necessary work. It was, and always has been, the responsibility of the company and the driver to ensure compliance with the driver's hours' rules and tachograph regulations.
She also pointed to the directors' multiple failings in dealing with offending drivers or reforming the company's systems over a threeyear period.