Driver sues boss over wheel knob
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by Ian Wylie • Hauliers could leave themselves open to legal action by fitting steering-wheel aids to their trucks.
This view, supported by the Department of Transport, comes as a truck driver who was injured by a steering wheel knob attempts to sue his employer.
The driver has issued a writ for damages against the company because he claims he raised safety objections over the reversing and manoeuvring aid but was told to drive the vehicle. He then hit a kerb while reversing, spinning the knob into his hand and injuring it. Steering-wheel knobs are popular among some drivers, who find them particularly useful when reversing.
Under Section 100 of the Construction & Use Regulations, operators are warned that a vehicle "must at all times be in such condition...that no danger is caused or is likely to be caused to any person in or on the vehicle".
A spokesman for the Department of Transport con• firms that hauliers could be punished if the courts decided that an employer had fallen short of the standards set out in the regulations.