Custodial sentences for drivers are far too harsh
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I WONDER whether I am alone in my opinion that three lorry drivers getting custodial sentences for tacho iddling (CM 7 April 2011) is a little harsh?
Although no-one could defend such a serious breach of the EU driving regulations, surely custodial sentences are completely over the top, when a ine or even a suspension of the vocational licence is punishment enough for any errant driver? And how many drivers could say, hand on heart, that they have never been tempted for their own convenience, or never been asked on behalf of an employer, to ‘modify’ their records on some rare occasion? Very few, if the truth be told, I would argue. When you look at all the serious or fatal accidents occurring on a regular basis throughout the transport industry, and that to date no senior manager or director has been sent to prison under the rules of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, but that numerous truckers have been sentenced, then one could argue that it always looks as if there is “one law for the rich, and another for the poor” .
DS Boyes Former owner driver Leeds