Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 47
1 Q. That has happened?
2 A. Yes.
3
4 Q. What is your procedure for this?
5 A. Well, obviously, the reason has to be determined to see
6 why the trailer tipped in the first place.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It was trailers rather than the load tripping
9 off lorry, was it?
10 A. It was a lorry pulling a trailer and the trailer
11 tipped, and in two of the cases I think it was found that
12 it was actually the same trailer and a design or a
13 mechanical problem was found with the trailer itself which
14 resulted in its tipping. Obviously, the driver has to be
15 investigated to find out if he is going too fast for a
16 particular driving situation, and certainly in one of the
17 cases that was definitely the case.
18
19 MS. STEEL: The drivers have to get to the plant for a certain
20 time, do they not, within a half hour period, or something
21 like that?
22 A. They are given time windows, but again the speed limit
23 for those lorries is 40 miles and hour and any driver who
24 is caught exceeding that -- and they all have data loggers
25 in the cabs -- any driver who would be caught exceeding
26 that would be disciplined.
27
28 Q. When I say about a half hour period, the drivers are
29 expected to get there at a certain time -- sorry, they are
30 given a time to arrive and they have to arrive within half
31 an hour of that time, do they not?
32 A. They are but, I mean, they are not penalised if there
33 is a reason for not arriving in that time.
34
35 Q. If there had been a delay at loading?
36 A. If there has been a delay at loading, the normal
37 procedure is to inform the factory that there has been a
38 delay and, therefore, the lorry will be late.
39
40 Q. So you are saying that no action at all would be, you know,
41 you would not have a cross word with the driver if they
42 turned up a bit late?
43 A. If the driver is late and there is a good reason, there
44 would be no reason for having any cross words. That is
45 what I am saying. If the driver has been driving too fast
46 for particular traffic situations, like going round a
47 roundabout, for example, then he will be disciplined. That
48 has happened.
49
50 Q. How many incidents are you aware of in the last 12 or 18
51 months where lorries or the trailers have tipped over?
52 A. I am aware of about three.
53
54 Q. But there could be more than that?
55 A. I think there maybe three, certainly, there might be
56 four. That would be the number.
57
58 Q. Was there one within the last four or five months that
59 happened in Grandstand Road?
60 A. Yes, there was.
