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The law requires hauliers to ensure that their drivers are

8th February 2001
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

fully rested before they get behind the wheel, but that is not always easy to do. The prosecution of two tired firefighters driving for Eddie Stobart highlights

the dangers of moonlighting. Pat Hagan reports.

Nobody gets rich on a firefighter's salary. At Lzo,724 a year its hardly a generous reward for putting your life on the line for the sake of others.

So it's not really surprising that many who choose to dedicate their life to firefighting also feel pressured into supplementing their income through whatever means they can.

In the most extreme examples, this can border on criminal activity—such as the case of fo part-time Greater Manchester firemen arrested in 1999 following allegations that they had made bogus emergency calls and even deliberately started

But in the vast majority of cases, firefighters stay firmly on the right side of the law by taking second jobs to top up their income from the fire service. Because they are trained to drive fire engines, some are understandably attracted to driving trucks in their spare time.

Coniroversy

But spare-time driving has become steeped in controversy following the prosecution of two Cumbrian firefighters who flouted the drivers' hours regu1a tions by doubling as casual drivers for high-profile Carlislebased haulier Eddie Stobart.

Appearing at Penrith Magistrates Court last month, the two men admitted failing to take 48 hours' rest after working for six consecutive days. When VI officials seized driving records they found that one of the men had worked /8 consecutive days without taking sufficient time off. Despite the gravity of the offence, they were fined just ii5o apiece.

As firefighters they worked four days on and four days off; in

with Stobart. The offences came to light after Commercird Motor reported the concerns of regular Stobart drivers, who tipped off fire service officials because of fears that the men were too tired to be doing either job properly.

But the ramifications of the Cumbrian case go far beyond the immediate future of the two drivers involved. It raises questions about where employers' responsibilities begin and end in terms of checking drivers' records, and whether what appears to be a relatively minor moonlighting problem is likely to escalate once the Working Time Directive limits drivers to a 48-hour week.

Obligations

A spokesman for Stobart stresses that the company broke no laws and that managers believed the firefighters had taken proper rests before doing their shifts.

For a company to be able to mount a proper legal defence, it must be able to demonstrate that it takes reasonable steps to ensure its drivers are fit and ready for the job they are given.

Freight Transport Association spokesman David Russell says members do occasionally seek advice on what to do when their own drivers want to supplement their income with outside jobs. Each case differs, of course; Russell says much will depend on the nature of the work and how it affects the quality of rest that the driver gets.

"For example, working in a pub would be something that was regarded as a breach of the regulations," he adds. But the onus of responsibility falls on both the employer and the worker. The employer, for example, needs to be shrewd about it and know what's going on and inform drivers that they have an obligation to tell the firm what they are doing—although the very term "moonlighting" means that the company isn't meant to know 'Maybe a haulier could make it part of its drivers' conditions of employment that they keep it informed of any other jobs that they are doing," he suggests. "It would certainly clarify it to have it in a contractual form. It's a discretionary issue and it would depend on the circumstances of each case—some employers may argue that it's unnecessary to know what their drivers are doing.

"If a driver has deliberately set out to conceal information from his employer then the weight of responsibility would rest with him. But if a firm has been very lax in checking up on drivers then it may be fifty-fifty."

The road safety campaign group Brake has not carried out any research into the extent of moonlighting in the haulage industry, but it warns that the issue highlights the general problem of driver fatigue and the resulting danger to the public. The hours regs state that drivers should take a 45-minute break every four-and-a-half hours: Brake recommends a 15-minute rest every two hours.

Executive director Mary Williams says: "Employers should take care to check drivers' qualifications for both part-time and full-time workers. They should also check that a driver's lifestyle enables him or her to get enough sleep, by looking for danger factors such as hobbies that involve staying up late, screaming babies or second jobs.

Circumstances

-One in ten deaths on the road is due to driver tiredness," Williams points out. "Companies should take positive action to reduce driver fatigue."

Brake also believes hauliers should question why applicants want to work part-time. It says that in these circumstances hauliers should check drivers' qualifications and ask them if they have other employment.

But in the light of the Cumbria case, hauliers might ask if fire service chiefs and other employers also have an obligation to keep tabs on their staff

A spokeswoman for the London Fire Brigade says policies may vary from region to region— in London any firefighter who wants to take on a second job has to seek the approval of his area commander, who will decide on a case-by-case basis.

In London, where full-time firefighters work an average 42 hour week, they are prohibited from working at a second job for at least nine hours before they come on duty. This is designed to ensure that they get the rest they need to do their job properly.

Commitments

The spokeswoman admits that firefighters are not routinely monitored to ensure they are complying with the rules, but she adds: "If a firefighter started to fall down in their duties then we would obviously look at what might be causing that If we found it was because of an outside job, then we would look at withdrawing that agreement."

Many hauliers are wary about employing part-time drivers who may have other commitments. "We don't use them and I don't encourage it," says Alan Galt of Dumbarton-based Galt Transport.

"We are lucky to have enough drivers round here at the moment, and it raises my suspicions when someone asks for part-time work. We need flexibility from our drivers." Not to mention safety.


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