Record fines against Scott’s and Lennons slashed

The record million dollar-plus speeding fines whacked on Scott’s and Lennons have been drastically reduced on appeal.

 

The record speeding fines imposed on Scott’s of Mount Gambier and Lennons Transport have been drastically reduced on appeal.

In May last year the big and well-known Scott’s was slugged around $1.2 million after pleading guilty to 165 speeding offences in New South Wales.

Then in August, Sydney-based express specialist Lennons was fined $1.3 million, on almost 200 speeding-related offences under the chain of responsibility.

But now ATN can reveal that both NSW local court fines have been dramatically reduced on appeal to higher courts.

Scott’s has been reduced to just $85,000; Lennons down to $318,000.

A NSW magistrate had found that Zaens Pty Ltd, operating as Lennons Transport, and director Tony Lennon did not have proper anti-speeding policies and procedures or take reasonable steps to prevent drivers speeding.

The magistrate’s original $1.3 million fine has been reduced to $318,000.

NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has confirmed this figure, but has not supplied any documentation.

The NSW Attorney-General’s Department could not provide a transcript, and Tony Lennon declined to comment “at this stage” for legal reasons.

Lennons was investigated after one of its B-doubles crossed onto the wrong side of the Hume Freeway near Sydney, crashed through a guardrail and hit a car, killing three members of the same family.

The driver was jailed on three counts of manslaughter, in a separate case to the Lennons speeding offences hearing.

Meanwhile there are no court transcripts available for the reduced Scott’s fine, but ATN has unravelled the details after speaking with some of the key players on both sides.

Scott’s came under the RMS radar when, in March 2012, one of its trucks with a new driver on board was caught by a highway patrol “hairdryer” doing 142 km/h in angel gear down a steep hill on the Hume.

That was just a few weeks after the fatal Lennons crash, and not far away.

You can read more on the Scott’s appeal case in the coming days.

Check out the full feature in the May issue of ATN.

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