Drivers broke rules avoiding conditions
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Environmental conditions placed on Littleboroughbased Rodney Rudge & Sons' licence are alleged to have led to drivers committing hours and tachograph offences.
Three Rudge drivers admitted a series of offences before Rochdale magistrates. Graham Foster and Kevin Reese, both of Rochdale, and David Nicholls, of Oldham, admitted the falsification of tachograph charts driving excess hours and taking insufficient rest. They were each given a conditional discharge for 12 months.
Tony Morris, prosecuting, said Rudge is facing prosecution on separate charges, but it is not known yet what these will be. cases missing mileage was found. The hours offences were clear on the face of the charts. The charges before the court were specimens of the offences found.
Defending, Michael Cunningham said trailers were not kept at the company's operating centre because severe environmental restrictions were placed on the company's licence following representations from local residents As a result, drivers took their tractor units home in order to pick up the trailers the next day The chart for the day's work was removed from the tachograph and the unit was then driven to the driver's home without a chart in the tachograph. It was in effect "private use" and neither the company nor the drivers had realised such mileage had to be recorded.
High risk loads were carried and, on a number of occasions, drivers had exceeded the hours limits by small periods of time to get secure parking.
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