I had a chap drive into the side of the trailer (he was trying to avoid a vehicle spun around the wrong way) near Leicester Forest last year, en route to Alfreton, 14 hours into a shift.
Police closed the motorway, statements, breath tests, highways agency out to cut side under-run bars off the trailer so that I could proceed. Policeman signed a printout (section 18 if I remember correctly) and allowed me to go back to Alfreton as due to lack of parking/damage to the trailer, it was the safest option all round (accident happened around midnight). I did an eighteen hour shift or thereabouts legally.
Winseer:
BUT I would not agree with the idea that “we all go over 15 hours”. It’s illegal, and you will get busted for it.
"I doubt very much whether DVSA would expect a driver to be weekended in a lay-by 20 minutes away from base if he had been delayed by a RTA on his last available shift of the week.
When VOSA did spot checks on drivers out of Stobarts Teeside depot - they were doing things like running over 15 hours “every friday” and going over 9-10 hours driving “too many times per week”
VOSA are not daft. They’ll realize if the entire workforce is taking the ■■■■. Daft thing is, what does the firm give these drivers who are taking a lot more risk than the type of bod who crosses picket lines, and breaks strikes…
It’s upto the driver to “not end up weekended” due to bad planning. I’ll refuse to do any “extra run” that involves me possibly going over 13 hours for a 4th day that week.
There are plenty of yards who’d give that kind of run to a driver who’s hardly done much so far this week - “share it out” with the 13-15 hour shifts as it were.
Now I’m salaried rather than paid by the hour though - I have every intention of avoiding ALL shifts of that length. Night drivers are limited to 10 hours on shift. Day drivers apparently not so.
The day drivers are left wide open to being stitched up with the longer runs as a result then, by the looks of it.
Has this Stobby thing gone to court , if so what penalties did the drivers get for regularly and blatantly ignoring the rules, and what about the so called planners?
I remember a case s few years ago with Martin Oliver drivers.
As far as I remember they were being monitored by VOSA loading off card regularly, in Essex among other things, and some of those guys (including Martin) were jailed .
robroy:
Has this Stobby thing gone to court , if so what penalties did the drivers get for regularly and blatantly ignoring the rules, and what about the so called planners?
I remember a case s few years ago with Martin Oliver drivers.
As far as I remember they were being monitored by VOSA loading off card regularly, in Essex among other things, and some of those guys (including Martin) were jailed .
I believe 15 have actually been prosecuted but haven’t heard yet what they got. I’m sure the information will come out.
I would also expect the TC to take action against their vocational licence because the records were falsified. The TCs guidance is 12 month suspension for 6 or more offences. If I remember rightly there were over 70 offences over the 15 drivers so that’s a good few for each driver.
According to the reports STOBARTS didn’t know it was going on and it was a comparison of driver card downloads to tracker data that caught them out. The TM was let off by the TC as blameless
( them zb won’t have a night out if they’ve no gear 
.