Charter boss praised
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A EORMER Charter Roadways driver rose to the defence of Gordon McLeod, the company's general manager, last week in the eighth week of the fake tachograph records conspiracy trial at Preston Crown Court.
Mel.eod, two directors of the company (William Graham and Gordon Greenwood). traffic clerks Philip Lonsdale and David Lindley all deny conspiring together and with drivers to make false entries in tachograph charts (C.If, March 8).
The driver, Gordon Marsden of Preston, said he worked for Charter on a selfemployed basis in 1981/82 and then as an employee in 1984.
He was happy working for the company and found he could rely on the time estimates given for the various journeys. McLeod, he said, was a brilliant judge of whether jobs could be done legally.
He was never asked to work excessive hours and he had never falsified a chart in his life.
He enjoyed working on a self-employed basis and never believed that he would get rich.
His take-home pay had been about 00 a week and he had been happy with that.
Ilc could not recall ever being given a deadline for a ferry at Fleetwood and was never compelled to do a job he said he could not complete within his hours. The workload given to him had never compelled him to exceed his hours.
Marsden said the company's traffic desk had made every effort to sort out any problem that arose over hours. Ile had been under more pressure when working for other hauliers than he had been when with Charter.
He is currently working for Lindley who is a partner in JWF Transport.
He was stopped in a recent check and his charts were in order apart from some unrecorded, distances.
The traffic examiner appeared to accept the explanation that he had been asked to move his vehicle on the docks by a security officer and had forgotten to put the chart in the tachograph.
Questioned by Mark Laprelle for the Crown, Marsden said he believed that four Charter drivers had done work that could not be done legally.
He had not worked for Charter Roadways during 1983, hut when shown four tachograph charts for Janua 1983, Marsden agreed tb.
appeared to show he h. acted as the second driver t a double-manned vehic doing a return trip to Bar Mg, Essex in January 1983.
Department of Transpc traffic examiners gave dence about their advice Charter shortly after the ii troduction of tachographs.
Cross examined by di fending counsel, senior miff examiner Denis Reid admitte that on occasions the Depar ment's advice was misleadir and that the Department booklet on the drivers' hou and tachograph regulations not entirely accurate.
Lonsdale said he work( originally as a driver fc Charter before becoming traffic clerk in August 198: He joined the traffic desk i February 1983.
With hindsight, he felt d system to ensure drivers con plied with the law was inack quatc.
He had noticed chart where the driver had openc the tachograph head, but ha not regarded them as susp cious as there were sever; reasons why drivers woul open the head. For example they might want to chcc how much time they had left The trial continues.