Artic driver banned indefinitely
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Ali articulated truck driver ,.^.,ho started delivering hazardous loads after his HGV driving licence was suspended has walked away from court with his career in ruins.
Chester magistrates heard how Sean Doyle had flagrantly breached his suspension, which he had been given after a conviction for six speed limiter offences.
Now banned indefinitely from driving trucks, he was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £150 towards the prosecution costs after admitting three charges of taking insufficient rest, driving without the appropriate licence and driving without insurance. He asked for a further 45 offences to be taken into consideration.
Doyle only narrowly escaped being banned from the roads after his driving licence was endorsed with 14 penalty points. But magistrates accepted that there were special reasons for not disqualifying the defendant, who now works as a taxi driver.
Stephen Rodgers. prosecuting, said that Doyle's HGV licence had been suspended for four months by the North Western Traffic Commissioner, although this had been reduced to two months on appeal.
Doyle had been sacked by his employers Colas, but started carrying hazardous loads for another company—Sutton & Son (St Helens)—who had no idea of their employee's previous record.
James Backhouse, defending, told the court that Doyle had been back before the TC, who had banned him from driving heavy vehicles indefinitely and recommended that he should not be allowed tc do so for 10 years.
As for the tachograph offences, DoylE had fallen foul of the law on one occasior because he had taken an over-extendec break at an earlier time. This meant thE break during the current period of drivirq was not enough to satisfy the regulations.