Road Haulage Freight Pair Sentenced for Flagrant Disregard of Hours of Service Regulations

Eleven Years for Manslaughter Which Judge ruled as 'Utterly Foreseeable' 

This poor Lorry Driver was probably told " you are lucky to have a job in these hard times ". Well, this is just deserts for a bully type employer, this could be the tip of the ice burg of employees frightened by the quote " if YOU do not do it somebody else will ".

UK – After yet another serious prosecution of a freight company, a father and son who ran AJ Haulage, a Daventry, Northamptonshire-based road haulage firm on behalf of 99p Stores, have been sentenced to a total of 11 years after they were found guilty of the manslaughter of one of their drivers after he fell asleep at the wheel of his 39 tonne Renault truck whilst ignoring hours of service regulations. 54 year old Adrian John McMurray and 36 year old Adrian Paul McMurray also admitted to cheating the PAYE and National Insurance system of £896,050 between 2005 and 2010. 99p Stores had no part in the operation of the subcontractor’s trucks.

Driver Stephen Kenyon, was crushed to death when his truck crashed into a stationary line of traffic on the southbound carriageway of the M1 in the early hours of February 12, 2010. According to the readings from the two tachographs installed in his truck, Kenyon had been working for more than 19 hours and driving for more than 13 hours. Prosecutor Charles Miskin QC told the jury:

“Drivers were frequently asked to do deliveries that would take them over permitted hours. Tired drivers pose a risk to themselves and others. This is a case about a man who lost his life because the rules were broken. [The McMurrays] showed a flagrant disregard for the law in the pursuit of profit. [Kenyon’s] death was the utterly foreseeable consequence of the way the defendants conducted their business. It was an accident waiting to happen. They failed to take steps to reduce the risk to drivers and to the public. They repeatedly exposed him to risk of death by asking him to work longer hours than he should have. This was a wilful disregard of the tachograph law.”

Kenyon’s death also led to an investigation into the company’s finances which found that only £400,000 of a £5.23 million turnover was ever declared with no VAT returns ever made. McMurray Snr and co-defendant, 69 year old bookkeeper Heather Parkinson, pleaded guilty to cheating the Inland Revenue of £311,976 between 6 April 2005 and 3 September 2009 and evading £424,248 VAT between 1 February 2005 and 31 July 2009. Parkinson also admitted to cheating the public revenue and National Insurance of £15,081.76. Judge Andrew Bright QC told the guilty pair:

“The excessive hours for which he was driving caused him to be so tired he was a danger to himself and other road users. Heavy lorries pose a very real threat to other road users and that threat was substantially increased by the way you ran your haulage business. The death of Stephen Kenyon was an accident waiting to happen. Adrian John McMurray and Adrian Paul McMurray you ran the business with scant regard to your legal obligations and cutting every corner to maximise your profits.”

McMurray Snr was jailed for seven years, four years for manslaughter and three years for fraud. McMurray Jnr was jailed for four years, two and a half years for manslaughter and eighteen months for fraud. Parkinson was sentenced to 27 months. After the sentencing, Detective Inspector John Arthur from the Joint Major Crime Unit led the investigation and said:

“These men had a total disregard for the safety of their workforce and other road users and whilst Stephen was aware of what he was doing, this practise should never have occurred let alone been encouraged. Their negligence ultimately led to Stephen’s death. We have worked tirelessly to bring this complex case to court and I am pleased the McMurray’s have been sentenced for their actions.
“My thoughts are with Stephen’s family, particularly his children. I would also like to pay tribute to Stephen’s parents, who have attended court every day, for their dignity and respect. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind all drivers that driving whilst tired can be extremely dangerous. People should take suitable breaks to ensure the safety of themselves and others.”