Dutch firm runs over road laws
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• A Dutch haulier is continuing to operate in the UK despite a history of offences including running over-length vehicles, overloading, and drivers' hours breaches.
GM de Rooy of Eindhoven was fined £300 with £85 costs at Eastleigh magistrates court earlier this month after running a drawbar unit almost 2m overlength. Turkish driver Mahmut Oztas was fined £300 with £70 costs for using an over-length vehicle, exceeding his hours and failing to take a daily rest.
The vehicle, loaded with four Daf chassis-cabs from the Daf plant in Leyland, Lancs was stopped in Southampton. This is not the first time that De Rooy has been in trouble with the authorities: • October 1999: Fined £1,500 for overloading; the truck was carrying Daf vehicles; • May 1998: Edcrest, a UK subsidiary of De Ropy, had its 0licences revoked by the SouthEast and North-West Traffic Commissioners.
• May 1998: TO Michael Turner wrote to the Department of Transport to express his concern over the De Rooy brothers' activities; • December 1997: Kent driver Paul White was fined £200 with £75 costs for falsifying tachograph records while working for De Rooy.
Daf says it expects contractors to abide by the law, but that it is an internal matter for De Ropy.
RHA national chairman John Bridge branded the fine as "derisory". De Racy has told Commercial Motort hat it is prepared to sit down to discuss the company's past problems and future actions but a spokesman declined to comment further.