Driving duel is foiled
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MANCHESTER Industrial Tribunal says it was fair for an employer to dismiss a tanker driver whose lorry collided with trying to reach a loading bay another when they were both first.
It upheld chemical manufacturer W. H. Cowburn and Cowper Ltcl's action in sacking driver William Charles Hockenhull, saying that, on balance, the company had acted fairly.
In a letter to the Tribunal, Mr Hockenhull described how the duel between the two drivers took place ten miles from base, and said that he had expected the other driver to stop trying to overtake him. In the event, Mr Hockenhull's vehicle hit the other on the offside.
Company managing director D. M. Cowburn said the tankers carried dangerous goods, and he felt justified in dismissing Mr Hockenhull, as his dangerous driving outweighed his six years' service.
For the Transport and General Workers' Union, F. Greer urged the Tribunal to treat the two drivers equally, as they were jointly responsible for the incident. It was unfair, he said, that Mr Hockenhull alone should have been dismissed.
But the company said it was the employer's duty to exercise reasonable and responsible management. In the circumstances it was fair to say that Mr Hockenhull was entirely responsible for the accident. In view of the hazardous nature of the work, this was driving of the worst sort.