Hours loophole found by drivers
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SIXTEEN allegations that drivers of Wallace Arnold Tours had driven excessive hours and had insufficient rest in France, were withdrawn before the Leeds Stipendary Magistrate, David Loy, last week.
The company and five of its drivers were facing a total of 47 charges. Guilty pleas were entered to 29 records offences and two offences of using a vehicle without a Public Service Vehicle Licence.
Prosecuting for the Yorkshire Traffic Commissioners, Michael Paterson said that when the charges were laid it was thought that the court had jurisdiction over hours offences that occurred in other Member States of the EEC, under the Europeon Community Act.
That now appears not to be so and he asked that those charcres be withdrawn. It was only right to say that these particular allegations would have been disputed by the defendants.
Drivers were now obliged to complete international control books in relation to international journeys. In these cases the drivers had properly kept such a book whilst on the Continent.
In all cases they had made no entry at all for the part of the journey in the United Kingdom, and full entries had not been made in respect of the Continental parts.
Defending, J. A. Backhouse said all the matters involved operations to the European Cup Final in May, 1975. An operational programme had been worked out that was designed to avoid any breach of the hours regulations.
However, two completely separate events totally disrupted the carefully laid plans.
A riot in Paris had led the French police to direct coaches to leave as quickly as possible, in some cases before the drivers had completed their rest periods.
On arrival at the ferry ports, it was found there was a ferry strike in progress which was said would last two or three days.
This meant that the drivers had to use their own initiative and find alternative means of crossing the Channel and some had to go as far afield as Belgium to do so. That was the background to the summonses that had been withdrawn.
The failure to enter details of the United Kingdom section of the journeys in the control book was a mistake on the part of the company rather than by the drivers.
At that time it had mistakenly believed that control books only related to the continental part of the journey and had so instructed its drivers.
The company was fined a total of £69 and the drivers, Thomas Michael Scott, John Bernard Charter, Brian Arthur Carney, Anthony Gibbons and John Malcolm Longster, were each given a conditional discharge for 12 months.