Coulthard hits back at allegations of pressure
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• Duncan Coulthard Junior, a director of Hayton Coulthard, which is owned by the family of grand prix racing driver David Coulthard, has hit back at allegations that the firm pressured its drivers and subcontractors to break the hours rules. "People will say anything to save their own bacon," he says.
A joint investigation by the Vehicle Inspectorate and police from Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway revealed a large number of offences. A total of 39 drivers were prosecuted for 133 tachograph offences relating to November alone.
During the first day of the hearing before Senior Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts, former Hayton Coulthard transport manager Allan Thornton claimed that he had no choice but to give out work which he knew could not be done within the time allowed (CM 17-23 May).
However, director Duncan Coulthard Senior said there was no financial advantage for drivers to drive illegally, as they were paid a maximum of 60 hours a week as they had been for the past 15 years.
Betts commented that drivers appeared to have been committing offences over a considerable period with little being done about it. Coulthard Senior replied: "They are good drivers and if we dismissed every driver who breached the regulations we would end up with a load of cowboys."
He was baffled as to why the allegations had been made, as many of the people concerned were still working for the firm.
John Campbell, transport manager at subcontractor Dunmhor, said he was never under the impression that pressure came from the traffic office—he was surprised that more than half of his colleagues had been found to be falsifying tachograph charts.
Asked why so many longterm employees had found it necessary to offend so many times in one month, Campbell replied: "Perhaps they were trying to be helpful."
The TC will announce his decision in writing.