Ex-R A chairman bailed over hours
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by Rob Willock • A former Road Haulage Association chairman was last week arrested and bailed for further questioning over suspected drivers' hours breaches, following a fatal motorway accident last year.
Serving magistrate Royston Bowles of Berkshire family airfreight haulier Roy Bowles Transport and three of the company's directors were recently interviewed by Essex police. No charges have been brought.
The accident took place on 16 October between J29-30 of the M25. One of the company's lorries collided with a blue Volvo skip lorry and sent it through the central reservation into the path of a third lorry and four cars.
The Volvo driver, Barry Davies of Dagenham, and motorist Peter Morgan of Solihull died in the incident. Roy Bowles Transport directors Stephen Bowles and Julie Bowles and a third unnamed director have been bailed to answer further questions, understood to concern tachograph irregularities, in early March.
A 32-year-old lorry driver from Slough was also arrested, charged with causing death by dangerous driving, and bailed to appear before Grays magistrates court on 22 April.
Royston Bowles was chairman of the Road Haulage Association in 1988-90 and currently serves as chair of Ealing Magistrates Court Committee.
Roy Bowles Transport has declined to comment.
Two Midlands men were last week fined £250 each for their involvement in last March's 160-vehicle pile-up on the M42.
Van driver Mark Gill of Sedgeley and oiltanker driver James McMellon of Old Hill were each ordered to pay £50 costs after admitting to charges of driving without due care and attention at Droitwich magistrates court.
Three people died in the pile-up, which stretched for a mile-and-a-half on both carriageways near J1 at Bromsgrove.
• Cumbria Police have be working with the
Vehicle Inspectorate at roadside s checks to target operators they have received intelligence about or which are known to have a poor maintenance history.
This confirms the VI is carrying out fewer random checks and is now making greater use of portable computers to access detailed information on operators' records In the first of these checks, on Wednesday of last week, 18 vehicles were checked—and every one of them was issued with immediate prohibition notices. Most of the faults involved brakes and tyres; a number of operators and drivers have been reported for possible prosecution. Cumbria police plan a series of similar checks.