Ex-Transfreight drivers dish the dirt on directors
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Two former drivers for Transfreight Services have been fined for falsifying tachograph records and for using vehicles with defective speed limiters.
David Ford pleaded guilty before the Liverpool magistrates to seven offences of falsification and eight speed limiter offences. He was fined e900 with £150 costs.
Anthony Reynolds pleaded guilty to four offences of falsification and 10 speed limiter offences. He was fined £750 with £150 costs.
Prosecuting for the VI, John Heaton said that when traffic examiners visited Transfreight's premises they were told that a fire had destroyed a large number of tachograph records, After analysing the remaining records, it became obvious there was widespread falsification of tachograph records by Transfreight drivers.
Ford had been aware his speed limiter was defective, but continued to drive at excessive speeds of up to 120km/h. Whatever the pressure put on drivers, it was their responsibility not to give in and put the public at risk, Heaton added.
Ford said that the TC had already suspended his HGV licence for 12 months. He claimed that Transfreight's attitude had been "if you don't like it, get your gear". In the end he had been sacked when he had run out of hours on a journey to Harlow and had parked. He had been delayed by a fatal accident and said one Transfreight director had told him: "I don't care if there are dead people on the road—just get the vehicle there."
Ford alleged that Anthony Long had bought a fleet of new Volvos and had said he wanted each of them to earn £3,500 a week. He alleged that Long was more interested in satisfying the shipping lines than in complying with the law, and had said the company had a reputation that "Transfreight can do anything". He made regular runs from Liverpool to Felixstowe, and knew he could not do a backload from Felixstowe in the permitted hours—but he had to do it, otherwise his life was not worth hying. He claimed that the fire at Transfreight had been deliberately started by the company's directors.
When Transfreight was formed to take over the wore of AJ Long Transport, it was specified that Long would not be involved.
Reynolds left Transfreight before the investigation started because he was unhappy with what was going on, so the TC suspended his HGV licence for only two months.