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Irish firm O'Leary International told one of its drivers - a South African - to falsify the name on his tachograph and drive beyond the legal limit on hours. That was stated by VOSA prosecutor Dominic Green at Cannock magistrates court, as he prosecuted the driver, Hans Schlebusch, for falsification of charts, exceeding the daily hours' limit, taking insufficient rest and overloading his truck by two tonnes. In addition, Schlebusch was prosecuted for having no driving licence.

"Schlebusch  had driven for ten hours with insufficient rest and on another occasion had taken only eight-and-a-half hours' rest in 24," Green said. The South African had told VOSA, when stopped in the Midlands, that the management of the firm, based in New Ross, County Wexford, told him to falsify the name of David Lawson and carry on driving, the court heard. "This was a typical case of an unscrupulous employer putting pressure on an employee," Green said.

Schlebusch said he had been sleeping in his truck since coming to Europe 18 months ago. He had no address and had been paid a wage of £50 a day - which is double the wages he could be earning as a driver in South Africa. Schlebusch was fined £900 with £200 costs and told he would have to pay immediately or face ten days in prison, whereupon he contacted his employers who texted the money to the court. VOSA told Motor Transport that Schlebusch had been arrested by police and held in a cell overnight before the court hearing, due to the  seriousness of the offences.

O'Leary International will be logged on the operator compliance risk score system and targeted accordingly. In future, it is planned to handle cases such as these with fixed penalties planned in the Road Safety bill, VOSA says.