A LEOMINSTER haulage boss has been disqualified from the industry for 18 months after he admitted instructing his grandson to drive vehicles knowing that he hadn’t taken enough rest.

David Duggan, 66, also had his vehicle operating licence revoked by industry regulator Nick Jones and will be disqualified from acting as a transport manager.

Mr Jones said the orders, which take effect on December 19, were necessary because Mr Duggan had condoned illegal activity and did so with the full knowledge that it was taking place.

He added that Mr Duggan’s vehicle operation had taken “appalling road safety risks” and gained an unacceptable commercial advantage through widespread offending.

The Traffic Commissioner also made orders to ban one of Mr Duggan’s sons, Paul Duggan, 45, and his grandson, Daniel Duggan, 20, from professional driving – for two years and six months respectively. David Duggan will be banned from professional driving for three months. All the orders take effect on 19 December.

In a written decision issued after a public inquiry and driver conduct hearings, Mr Jones said it was evident from an investigation by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) that members of the Duggan family were, to varying levels, involved in the misuse of driver cards and falsification of records to hide excess hours worked.

“The motivation for this illegal and dangerous practice was an endeavour to pay off debts and legal costs,” he said.

“The financial gain was achieved to preserve the family business and avoid individual bankruptcy. The view of the DVSA was that this was at a real cost to road safety”.

Lorry drivers are required to take legal breaks and rest to ensure they are not driving while tired. They are also required to record their duties using tachograph devices.

A DVSA examiner uncovered evidence that drivers working for David Duggan had used tachograph cards belonging to another driver to conceal the excessive hours they were working and make their own records appear to be legal.

During an interview, David Duggan admitted that he had given his grandson, Daniel Duggan, instructions to drive vehicles knowing that he had a full time engineering job and therefore had not taken sufficient rest to be able to drive the vehicle safely.

The Traffic Commissioner said Daniel Duggan knew exactly what he was doing and his full-time work was a significant concern as tired drivers are especially vulnerable.

“Other road users are at special risk when people like Daniel Duggan deliberately ‘double shift’ which in this context means working full time in a factory then carrying out a virtual full time role as a driver of HGVs,” he said.

"Any right thinking person appraised of my full findings of fact would agree that businesses that rely on using someone else’s driver card to falsify records has an unacceptable commercial advantage. There are also appalling road safety risks.”