Road deaths spur police probe
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• A motorway crash in which a coach ran into the back of an artic, killing the driver and a 17-year-old courier, led to the discovery of what was described as "wholesale abuse" of the drivers' hours and tachograph regulations by employees of Trathens Coaches.
This was revealed at Bristol Crown Court, when nine members of the company's former management team admitted their part in a conspiracy to falsify tachograph charts. Police seized 27,609 charts from the company's offices, of which some 14,024 were examined. A total of 2,597 offences came to light and some 48 drivers were prosecuted.
Director Michael Trathen, Plymouth transport manager Nigel Fox, and London transport manager Douglas Roper were each sentenced to six months inprisonment, suspended for two years.
Prosecuting, Rodney Kievan QC, indicated that not-guilty pleas by director David Trathen, traffic clerk James Bennett and wages clerk Frank Glynn were accepted by the prosecution.
Kievan said an investigation had started after an accident on the M5 in September 1984. The coach had been on a tour to the Munich Beer Festival.
The driver, a Mr Cleeve, had started driving at Dover, having previously travelled on the coach as a passenger. He had taken the coach to Rochdale, where he had dropped off the last passengers. One had been so concerned about his tiredness that she had invited him home to have a cup of tea, but Cleeve had declined, saying he had to get the coach back to Plymouth. The accident had occurred while the coach was travelling south. Cleeve's tachograph charts had been found to be false.
Kievan said there had been extensive and persistent disregard of the hours regulations throughout 1984, and charts had been falsified to hide that abuse. Drivers had run with false names on charts, without charts in the tachographs, with tachograph heads open, and had double and triple charted. Drivers would often work on their rest day. Seventeen drivers had made statements, all of whom had said that management had known about and encouraged the falsifications. They had said they had been expected to undertake ridiculous schedules.
For Trathen, David Eller QC said it was a practice that had started amongst the company's drivers. In 1984 the company had faced appalling financial difficulties and Trathen had been working hard to overcome them. He had delegated the operational managemeni others, but by September h had realised what was going and had taken advantage of Trathen was ordered to £3,000 costs, Fox £800 and Roper £600. Contracts man ger Graham Masters was flu £350 with £50 costs; traffic controller Brian Pritchard E; with £50 costs; traffic clerk Kenneth Smith 2400 with 2i costs; traffic clerk Christopl Shaw £350 with 250 costs; traffic clerk Michael Scaife £350 with £50 costs; and tr. clerk David Gordon £200 w £50 costs.
For Fox, John Royce QC said the meteoric rise of Trathens in the early 1980s had left the management tei ill-equipped. Fox had had to much to do and had worked hours of the day. For Ropei Edward Horridge said the L don office had won contract that had resulted in much ir work than had been expect( and it had found itself short coaches and drivers.
Sentencing the nine, Judg David McCarraher said it w clear that by 1984 a conside able amount of falsifying hac been going on. Even if that not been actively encourage there was no doubt that the management's laissez faire a tude acted as a spur. Unfor nately, there had been a tra accident caused by an overworked and tired driver. If anyone could have stopped rot it was Michael Trathen.
Had the offences occurre, the last year or two he wou have had no alternative but sentence him to an irnmedia term of imprisonment. Fox, the nominated transport ma ger on the Plymouth licence and Roper, the nominated transport manager on the L don licence, were very muc the same position as Micha( Trathen. They had wanted their schedules kept and th( had been prepared to overk the drivers' hours.
Describing the case as gc solid police work, Judge McCarraher commended du officers involved: Inspector Graham Masters, Sergeant Tony Oliver and Constables Brian Biggs and Ian Smith.