Kalari truck driver used a 37-metre road train to intimidate a colleague he disliked
By Brad Gardner | February 13, 2013
A Kalari truck driver in South Australia used a 37-metre road train to intimidate a colleague he disliked, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled.
Deputy President Marilyn Bartel found that Stephen Stuart deliberately drove his fully-loaded triple road train within 25 to 45 metres of another Kalari driver, David Sinclair, who was also driving a triple road train.
Road train drivers are required to maintain a 200 metre distance when following another vehicle of more than 7.5 metres in length when the speed limit is 60km/h. Both trucks were travelling 90km/h.
Kalari sacked Stuart due in part to the incident. The driver launched an unfair dismissal claim, but Bartel upheld the operator’s decision and criticised Stuart’s actions.
“Whether the applicant’s conduct constitutes tailgating is debatable, but I am satisfied that his actions were deliberate and that they breached the respondent’s driver operator manual,” Bartel says.
While Stuart argued Sinclair deliberately pulled out in front of him and slowed down to close the distance between the vehicles, Bartel ruled there was no evidence to support his claim.
But she adds that Stuart’s belief that Sinclair acted unsafely fuelled his decision to travel closely behind him.
“In my view the applicant accelerated to move closer to Sinclair’s truck in an attempt to intimidate him, most probably out of anger or frustration arising from the previous incident. Reason prevailed and an appropriate distance between the vehicles was re-established relatively quickly,” she says.
Bartel says Stuart’s recollection of events was likely skewed due to his animosity toward Sinclair. She says evidence indicated Stuart’s dislike of his colleague was borne out of Sinclair’s friendship with another Kalari staffer who was not on good terms with Stuart.
“He placed himself and others at risk by his actions, and most concerning is that the incident arose because emotions compromised his ability to undertake his driving duties in a safe and professional manner,” Bartel says.
Kalari decided to cut ties with Stuart due to a number of infractions, which included verbal abuse of another colleague and a heated exchange with Sinclair that led to threats of physical violence.
The incidents occurred at Kalari’s Ceduna depot in the west coast region of South Australia.
