Bakery loses two vehicles over environmental and hours regs
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• Breaches of environmental conditions and the drivers' hours and tachograph rules has led to two of the four vehicles operated by Michael and Adriani Tsaitalos being suspended for two months by South Eastern & Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Brigadier Michael Turner.
The partners, who trade as Michael's Pitta Bread Bakery, of Holloway, appeared before the Commissioner at a London disciplinary inquiry. For the firm, David Wolkind maintained that many of the apparent breaches of the 4.5-hour driving rule were in reality due to a failure by drivers to correctly operate the tachograph mode switch. He said that breaches of the conditions limiting the hours at which vehicles could enter and leave the operating centre in the main involved one vehicle, which had been forced to return late to the depot by the terms of a major contract. It was the intention to vacate the site in February, surrender the existing licence and seek a licence in the name of a limited company. Suspending two nominated vehicles, Brigadier Turner said it was clear the firm had consistently disregarded the environmental conditions and there could be no excuse. Representors and objectors had fought long and hard to get the conditions imposed and they had a right to expect that they would be enforced. It was the firm's duty to make sure that drivers complied with the drivers' hours and tachograph rules, said Brigadier Turner. It was unacceptable to find that the centrefields of tachograph charts were not properly completed and many purneys where drivers had apparently taken insufficient rest and breaks. He pointed out that even if these could be explained by failures to oper ate the mode switch, it was the firm's duty to train and disci pline drivers so that such inattention to detail was avoided.
He was astounded that the firm had operated for so long and yet appeared to be still so ignorant of the tachograph rules.
The firm had consistently disregarded the environmental conditions