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Owner will have no more say in how business is managed

21st April 2005, Page 8
21st April 2005
Page 8
Page 8, 21st April 2005 — Owner will have no more say in how business is managed
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A haulier steps out of the TC's way before his repute can be considered. Chris Tindall reports.

THE OWNER OF a haulage company who pleaded guilty to failing to produce tachograph charts has taken the unusual step of removing himself entirely from the business before his repute can be considered.

The move has left Traffic Commissioner David Dixon with no other option than to consider just the future of the 0-licence held by MA Rees & Son, and whether to suspend the licences of six drivers who committed tacho offences.

Mark Rees stepped down as transport manager and owner of the Cardiff-based firm two days before appearing at the Public Inquiry He has now employed a new managing director and transport manager to take over the company.Rees says he will have nothing to do with the firm he built up over the last three years and have no say on how the business is run.

The PI was told traffic examiner Michael Isaacs carried out a routine company inspection in January 2004. A later investigation revealed 68 missing tachograph periods and 50,505 missing kilometres. There were 237 offences on 1,483 tachos: a 16% offence rate: the average is 3%.0f 20 driv ers interviewed only four said they received any instructions on drivers' hours. Rees was prosecuted and fined £500 for each offence.

For Rees, Miles Dorrington described the owner's decision as "proactive", despite Dixon's concern that "anyone could resign and do this". Dorrington added: "This is not an effort by Rees to get off the hook. There's clear evidence this operation has got its act together and will be compliant from this day forward."

Drivers interviewed by Dixon denied they were pressurised by Rees to get the job done. Grant Baker, Raymond Barker, Ian Evans, David Jones, Timothy Lewis and Darren Sweet now await Dixon's written decision.


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