Tanker men broke 76 laws
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• Selby Magistrates hammered 18 Norman Lewis Tankers hazchem drivers last week, fining them nearly £10,000 after they admitted committing a huge list of 76 hours, rest and tachograph offences. One driver will now have to pay 21,300, though the company itself was only fined 2250 for allowing director Barry Lewis to drive without taking sufficient rest and without an international journey permit.
The trial lasted three days and the drivers admitted 76 offences of driving for excessive periods and taking insufficient rest, and three offences of knowingly making false entries in tachograph charts. Allegations that the company had aided and abetted the falsification of records as well as creating the drivers' offences were dismissed by the magistrates, along with 14 alleged offences of failing to produce records. The court ordered that 21,000 of the company's defence costs be paid out of public funds.
Richard Wadkin, for the North Eastern Traffic Area, said that the company carried hazardous chemicals, and the seriousness of the offences could not be minimised. The drivers had been a risk both to themselves and the public, he said, and they had even breached the safety regulations abroad though those could not be brought before the court. All the offences had been committed in a period of two months, said Wadkin and they had been caused by the requirements the company had placed on the drivers.
The company had close contact with its drivers and closely controlled their movements, argued Wadkin. Paul Brown, who had been employed by Norman Lewis Tankers as a traffic clerk, told the court that it transported poisons, taxies and non-harzardous chemicals throughout Europe. Its director and transport manager Gary Lewis always knew what loads the vehicles had and where they were on the Continent at any given time. The driver's tachograph charts were also checked by Lewis, said Brown. In reply to Stephen Kirkbright, defending, Brown said that the firm's traffic was fairly flexible and he personally was not aware of anyone being pressurised to exceed the hours limits.
A former Lewis driver, Philip Wilson, told the court that he used to be told to pick up a return load on the Continent • after cleansing his tank. He would then contact the company again, who would direct him to a port. Questioned by Kirkbright, Wilson said he would not have driven if he had been required to exceed the hours limits.
Following a ruling that evidence of offences committed abroad was admissable, senior traffic examiner Brian Walscher outlined a sample of 44 offences which he maintained were obvious to see on the tacho charts showing that the speed limit had been exceeded by a considerable amount.
Walscher said Lewis had admitted that the charts were not checked against other documents, such as CMR notes and pemits, to verify where vehicles were at any given moment. He agreed that he had been told that warning letters were sent to drivers and that one driver had been suspended. Traffic examiner Keith Williamson gave evidence of various journeys for which no charts were available.
Imposing the penalties, the chairman of the magistrates said they had borne in mind they were dealing with professional drivers who were top of their class.
Barry Lewis was fined £150 for one offence. David Martin was fined 21,100 for 10 offences. John Hodgkinson was fined £800 for six offences. Richard Laverack was fined 2400 on three offences. Tho mas McHale was fined 2800 on six offences. John Gill was fined 2700 on five offences. Graham Thompson was lined 2250 on three offences. Peter Lieder was fined 2250 on four offences. John McCrory was fined £100 on one offence. Stephen Whitaker was fined £750 on five offences. Keith Simpson was fined £450 on three offences. David Beverley was fined 250 on two offences. John Whitehurst was fined 2300 on two offences. Thomas Varley was fined 21,300 on 10 offences. Myles Lewis was fined .2300 on three offences. Thomas Shuttlewood was fined £400 on four offences. Colin Sharp was fined £450 on three offences. Melvyn Carr was fined £550 on four offences. Charles Mann was fined £750 on five offences.
Lewis and the drivers were each ordered to pays 230 towards prosecution costs.