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Agency boss is jailed over hours offences
Page 12
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THE BOSS OF A Devon driver agency has been imprisoned for two and a half years for persuading staff who had exceeded their driving hours to get behind the wheel.
Raymond Knapman was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court following an earlier hearing in which he had admitted eight counts of obtaining property by deception.
The case came to light after a fatal truck crash two years ago involving an overworked truck driver who had been employed by Knapman. Knapman jointly ran the Plymouth-based company R&B Drivers. He persuaded staff to exceed their hours, and punished those who refused to co-operate by giving them fewer shifts.
Some drivers took caffeine tablets to stay awake while others confessed to falling asleep at the wheel.
Michael Brodrick, Winchester Crown Court recorder, told Knapman: "The drivers had told you they had fallen asleep at the wheel and nearly had an accident as a result, yet you continued." Knapman and his business partner Robert Legg both pleaded guilty to one health and safety offence: Legg was ordered to pay £2,500 fines and costs.
Last year the pair were found not guilty of manslaughter after the fatal crash, which happened in December 2003.
The accident involved R&B driver Mark Chadbourne and innocent party Anthony Best. Both drivers were killed when their trucks collided on the A303, near West Knoyle in Wiltshire.