Clause 21 - Using vehicle in dangerous condition etc.
Road Safety Bill
10:15 am
Mr Greg Knight (Shadow Minister, Environment and Transport; East Yorkshire, Conservative)
As I read it, without the amendment, the courts would be faced with a position where, if the man had previously been convicted of the offence, he would have to be disqualified from driving, even if it was not his vehicle and he did not know that the vehicle was in a dangerous condition when he was stopped by the police. This could potentially—I put it no higher than that—cause an injustice to an employee working for an unscrupulous employer.
I hope the Minister will tell us why, on the face of it, he wants to put a provision in this Bill which could, in certain circumstances, be an attack on an innocent working man working for a ruthless employer who did not properly maintain his vehicles. The worker could find that he loses not only his license but his livelihood because, if his only trade is being a driver, he would be taken off the road and out of work. The disqualification should not automatically follow. We should still allow the courts to look at the evidence before them. If it was a fault which experts would say would not necessarily be apparent to the driver of the vehicle at the time, why should that man receive an immediate ban?
I hope the Minister will respond to the real concerns that I have raised, which could, in some circumstances, lead to an injustice.