A Danish road transport company has had one of his vans confiscated by the police after an employee drove it drunkenly and recklessly earlier this month.
The police were able to take the van thanks to Denmark’s new reckless driving laws, which allow vehicles to be confiscated irrespective of whether they are owned by the driver or not.
This means that cars, vans or trucks that are borrowed or leased can be confiscated. The law is intended to make leasing and rental companies more conscious of who they lend their vehicles to. The same goes for hauliers with their recruitment and regular motorists lending their car to others.
According to nyheder.tv2.dk, 42 vehicles have been seized across the country since the new reckless driving law came into force at the start of the month. 25 of those vehicles did not belong to the person who was driving them.
Flemming Jørgensen, who co-owns Niels Pagh Logistics, recently fell foul of the law after one of his drivers took a company van while under the influence of alcohol.
The truck driver, described as “a regular and trusted employee,” borrowed a Niels Pagh Logistics’ van without Jørgensen’s knowing about it. In a drunken state, the driver then drove 33 kilometres in the wrong direction on the Funen Motorway. He was stopped by the police and the vehicle was seized.
Jørgensen believes the new measures are “unreasonable” for a company like his, as its employees “can’t be monitored 24 hours a day.”
The Niels Pagh Logistics co-owner also admitted his surprise at the situation, saying there had never been any indication his employee would do such a thing:
I had never imagined that [would happen] in my wildest imagination. He has been incredibly conscientious and has never had any cases whereby we would have been able to anticipate that he could do something like this.
Jørgensen could sue the driver in order to recoup the loss of the van being confiscated. However, he believes the driver simply does not have the means to be able to pay for the van:
He no longer has a job, and it may be that he has some money at home in Romania, but I doubt it. That is why Pagh Logistics now has to cover the loss itself.
The Niels Pagh Logistics co-owner also fears that the law could put some hauliers out of business in the event they lose a truck.
Benny Engelbrecht, Denmark’s Transport Minister, has nonetheless backed the new regulations – telling Danish TV they work exactly as intended. The Minister also emphasized that the owner of the vehicle always has co-responsibility if it is lent to someone who, for example, drives well above the speed limit or while drunk.
This law is in no way skewed. We can see that those who are stopped have driven very recklessly and have exposed others to danger. You have to ask yourself, do I now trust the person who is employed in my company and who will use the vehicle?
Photo credit: Jimmy / Flickr