B&J warned over hours
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/ Oldham-based haulier Brett Hampson, trading as B&J Transport, has received a warning for permitting drivers' hours and tachograph offences.
In August Hampson was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £3,150 after admitting permitting drivers to exceed 4 hours driving without the required break; to exceed the daily driving limit and to take insufficient rest; failing to ensure drivers used tachographs; and failing to preserve tachograph charts (CM 5-11 Sept 1991).
As a result, North Western Licensing Authority Martin Albu considered taking action against Hampson's 0-licence at a Manchester public inquiry.
Hampson said that he ran the firm, but his wife helped with some of the administration. It got to the point where it became quite hard to do everything in accordance with the regulations, and he had trusted the drivers.
However, he had realised he needed the services of a professional and he had since taken on an operations manager. In reply to the LA, Hampson said there was no incentive for his drivers to break the law. B&J Haulage was his livelihood: he had put everything into it and he would not have slack drivers who broke the rules.
Albu said that the offences Hampson had been convicted of were sample offences. There had been a lot of abuse and he wanted to know why the drivers had done it.
Operations manager Stephen Cahill said that after he had interviewed the drivers it was quite apparent that some of them were not aware of how long they could drive in a day and what breaks they had to take. He had pointed out the rules to the drivers, arranged for charts to go out for computer analysis and had set up a proper disciplinary system.