Very sad! 
The tragic part is the way the employer looks to be trying to distance themselves from pushing the driver…
More than likely they were! 
Oh, FFS! This is exactly the situation being discussed on another thread. Driver getting tired, needs to take breaks in addition to those mandated by the Drivers’ Hours rules. Employers pushing him to “crack on” (although in Court they deny this…). A crock of ■■■■■ all round.
RIP drive - I just hope it was worth it 
Also saying they were paying for the extra brakes because he want declaring them !
Don’t they down load and check tacho’s Ffs , if my firm can with 30 surely a big firm can
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blue estate:
Also saying they were paying for the extra brakes because he want declaring them !
Don’t they down load and check tacho’s Ffs , if my firm can with 30 surely a big firm can
What we don’t know is the duration of these breaks.
Was it 5 mins,half an hour, or more…
Sounds a lot like what I used to do when on nights… Take 45 mins break on way back to yard and end up sleeping for 2 hours 
but that’s the only way I wud ever do a night shift is if I was aloud to get a couple of hrs sleep in the middle of the night 
Evil8Beezle:
blue estate:
Also saying they were paying for the extra brakes because he want declaring them !
Don’t they down load and check tacho’s Ffs , if my firm can with 30 surely a big firm canWhat we don’t know is the duration of these breaks.
Was it 5 mins,half an hour, or more…
Neither of the 2 points above matter a light really. We all know it’s just the company trying to pull the wool over the Sherriff’s eyes. They pushed, and the poor driver didn’t push back, and his luck ran out… RIP…
It doesn’t get much more clear cut than sending written confirmation to the agency complaining about his breaks.
It wouldn’t be anything like: “Your break is sitting (‘sat sitting’ in memory of Terry Wogan) on that bench in the draughty portacabin while the lorry is tipped and reloaded, and we’re not paying for you to take any more break time.” - now would it? of course not. Cough, cough.
blue estate:
Also saying they were paying for the extra brakes because he want declaring them !
Don’t they down load and check tacho’s Ffs , if my firm can with 30 surely a big firm canSent from my iPad using Tapatalk
It seems to be the haulier arguing with the agency that he was employed by (local Driver Hire franchise) as to how many hours he was paid for based on what was on his agency time sheet.
“They said it was causing delays in their deliveries and to get in touch with him about it.’
However they try to wriggle by saying: “The breaks were not the issue. It was the fact that we were getting charged for them.”
I agree, it does sound like they were at the time asking the agency to tell him to stop taking extra breaks so he would arrive at the depot sooner, now at the FAI they are saying they just wanted them declared on the time sheet. Which doesn’t add up as they wouldn’t have mentioned delays on the message to the agency if it was just about payment.
Strange how this can happen these days.
I am constantly told by work to stop if I feel tired.
Get out of cab. Have a brew.
Even the signs on the motorways say take a break don’t drive tired!
For a company to complain to an agency. And the agency not to point this out shoes that they are only looking at pounds. Not lives.
there appears to be an update that the deceased driver has been solely blamed for the crash and that traces of canibus and alcohol found in his bloodstream although the level of alcohol was much lower than the legal limit when the blood was tested at a later stage after the accident.
Tragic RIP
The big problem is some companies have a nice correct policy in writing, to show the powers that be, and a completely different policy in practice where direct verbal and face to face communication is normal.
The bad players try to rush their staff, with varying degrees of begging pleading and encouragement right up to outright bullying via any combination of carrot and stick approach, but no orders that could point the finger at the office or company will be in writing or recorded electronically.
Sooner or later it comes back to bite them in the arse, if for no other reason than a drivers entire working life is more or less recorded for posterity now, via digi card and increasingly by a companies own records and spying equipment, what these companies seem to forget is that when someone gets killed then all the crap in the world hits the fan, and rightly so, and their records will be demanded by officers who do know what that are doing, even if it’s a driver pushing it to the limit the company still have a duty of care to prevent excessive work speed hours etc.
Just remember folks, after all the hard work and dedication you put in, when things like this happen your life at work will be rewarded with a wreath.
I hope your wife likes flowers.
This all comes down to the common practice of firms deducting 45 minutes for “legal breaks” - that is, the ones you HAVE to take by law, which is normally enough at 45 minutes on a shift of say, 8 hours.
If a driver does a 15 hour shift, and takes two one hour breaks - there are indeed plenty of firms that’ll try and “clip” that timesheet down to “being paid 13 hours” rather than 14 or 14:15.
Thus, the firm encourages unsafe acts - because you’ll get docked if you are deemed to be taking breaks “In addition to the basic legal requirement”.
Well - a long enough shift - 45 minutes is NEVER going to be enough, as well as legally.
If you refuse to use POA unless it’s paid - you can get around this by refusing to work shifts longer than 9 hours in length. If subjected to that myself (on agency) I’d prefer an 8 hour shift - as that would have no breaks deducted for pay purposes at all.
You need a high core hourly rate - and avoid “paid by the day”. Jobs that are salaried - you take as many breaks as you want, as the rate of pay is the same regardless. If the firm thinks you are “too slow” - then they can always sack you - but what firm actually does this?
bertiebus:
Strange how this can happen these days.
I am constantly told by work to stop if I feel tired.
Get out of cab. Have a brew.Even the signs on the motorways say take a break don’t drive tired!
For a company to complain to an agency. And the agency not to point this out shoes that they are only looking at pounds. Not lives.
The sort of time I get tired (around breakfast time) - I can’t get a MSA bay for love nor money.
Finding laybys that other truckers “don’t know about” is key to me getting my breaks in at the proper intervals. 
Quite funny I was expecting it to be the argos lorry driver complaining about breaks. I was there for 18 months with wincanton at barton. They penalize you for pulling over for any period longer than 10 mins before getting into depots… Everything is tracked right down to your harsh breaking which im sure most places are now. But that place you literally felt like you were doing something wrong if you pulled over because of drifting in and out of consciousness. Won’t be long before something happens because of them enforcing it.
The title should be: WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU LET THE TRAFFIC PUSH YOU"
We are all grown men / women / un-defined, who should stand up for their own good.
You hold that steering wheel, your are responsible, if you tired, park up, have a kip.
It’s your decision, and if you can not stay awake at night, than don’t take on night work.
We cannot blame every company for every drivers decision.
What the company is claiming, is that the driver took extra break, but didn’t deduct them.
It’s a bit if you buy a loaf of bread, and the shopkeeper takes 2 slices out for his own use.
You would be friggin annoyed.
I don’t know all the ins and outs of this situation, but a company has the right to ask you to work the hours, you want to have paid.
It’s basics isn’t it?