UK company directors risk corporate manslaughter charges

Risky business on the road as UK company directors risk corporate manslaughter charges every time one of thousands of illegal drivers gets behind the wheel.

Licence Bureau, a UK authority on driver qualifications, estimates that there are 24,000 people driving illegally for companies in Britain, including an unknown number of truck drivers.

In 2011, Licence Bureau found that, on average, one in every 300 licences was invalid.

Licence Bureau, which verifies driving licences on behalf of businesses, discovered that of the non-compliant company drivers that they checked, 43% were driving on a provisional licence, 31% were on a revoked licence and 9% were disqualified.

The bureau said the most common reason for “illegal” truck licences was “expired categories”, as many drivers forget they are only valid until they are 45 years old.

Malcolm Maycock, Director of the Licence Bureau, told Lloyd’s Loading List.com of one large and well respected blue chip haulage firm that had been checking one driver manually for seven years.
It was only once he was 47, that they had external support and discovered he did not have a valid licence.

“And what’s more, it was one of the worst fakes they had ever seen.”

It was also discovered that the driver had actually been disqualified for the first two years of his employment.

The bureau said: “These statistics are shocking, as it has been estimated that up to a third of all road traffic incidents involve somebody who is at work at the time. This may account for more than 20 fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week.”

Maycock added: “Time and time again we see drivers that have made false statements to their employers about their licences.

“We want all companies based in the UK to help play a part in making the nation’s roads a safer place by checking the validity of their drivers’ documents. In the long run they will be protecting their business interest as well as protecting the safety of others.”

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which came into force on 6 April 2008, means employers are responsible for ensuring safety on the road, which includes checking all drivers are licensed to drive. The new law allows prosecution for gross failures in the management of health and safety within a company when it results in a death.