Licence suspended following an accident that ‘showed the importance of compliance with the drivers’ hours rules’
The Express Motors (Penygroes) driver involved in the coach crash in Eastern France in July 2016 in which a number of children were injured has had his vocational PSV driving licence suspended for six weeks by Traffic Commisisoner (TC) Nick Jones.
Melvyn Lane, of Porthmadog, subsequently pleaded guilty to taking insufficient rest and failing to record other work unconnected with the crash in July 2016.
In February Mr Lane was fined £246 with £450 costs and a £30 victim’s surcharge after pleading guilty to the offences before Caernarfon Magistrates. Express Motors was fined £1,250 and ordered to pay £600 prosecution costs and a £125 victim’s surcharge after pleading guilty to corresponding charges.
Consideration of action against the company, of Penygroes, Caernarfon, with a 20-vehicle international licence, and Eric Wyn Jones and Jean Ann Jones, trading as Express Motors, of the same address, with a 35-vehicle international licence, was adjourned until a date to be fixed, after James Backhouse, for the operators, said that there was a potential conflict of interest involving one of the directors, who was not present, and from whom he needed to take specific instructions.
Adjourning the cases, the TC said that there were serious issues and allegations, including ones of possible falsifications.
In regard to Mr Lane, Traffic Examiner Sarah O’Brien said that she carried out an investigation following the report of the accident in France involving one of the company’s vehicles.
Mr Lane was employed part time mainly carrying out school runs. This was his second continental trip that year. His full-time employment was with Cadwalladr Health Board as a driver for the GP Out of Hours service.
On 20 July 2016 he undertook night shift duty with the GP Out of Hours service. He then started duty with Express Motors on the afternoon of 21 July, which meant the longest period of rest taken within the 24-hour period was six hours 15 minutes instead of the required nine hours.
Mr Lane had failed to make a manual entry of his duty period for the GP Out of Hours service on his digital driver card.
He had taken a 16-hour rest after the commission of the offences before the accident occurred. The company was aware that Mr Lane drove for the Out of Hours service but was unaware of the actual hours worked.
The TC commented that the company should have asked but it was also the duty of the driver to inform them.
Mr Backhouse said that both parties knew that Mr Lane had another job. There was a system of communication but it had not been detailed enough.
Suspending Mr Lane’s licence, the TC said that anyone who worked for a PSV operator who had another job needed to communicate the amount of work undertaken to the operator.
Mr Lane’s practice of not informing the company was inherently dangerous. The fact that children were injured in the accident showed the importance of compliance with the drivers’ hours rules.
