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Ex-soldier on hours charges
Page 12
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• by Me Jewell An ex-soldier who blamed drivers' hours offences on his ignorance of the rules has had his HGV driving licence suspended for a period of three weeks.
Ex-warrant officer Christopher Jones, of Penmaenmawr, appeared before the Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon after being convicted of five offences of driving for more than four-and-a-half hours without the required break.
Traffic examiner Richard Mill said that at the time of the offences Jones had been working for Pero Foods, of Betws-y-coed. A check on the firm's tachograph records for the period between February and May 2002 showed that both its drivers had been speeding to and from its operating centre along single carriageway roads. In addition, a number of hours offences had been committed by Jones. When interviewed, Jones had said that he had not realised that breaks of under 15 minutes did not count.
Jones said that he had spent 24 years in the Army and it was the first time he had ever appeared in any court. Tachographs were not used in the Army and Pero Foods had not instructed him properly. He felt that he had already been punished by being fined £350.
The TC pointed out that punish
ment was not his remit. He had to decide whether Jones was fit to hold an HGV licence.
Jones said that he had since left Pero Foods. He was now working for a dairy firm in Conway and his tachograph charts were now immaculate.
In reply to the TC, Jones said that he was aware that it was his personal responsibility to ensure that he complied with the law. When a driver passed the HGV driving test in the Armed Forces, they were not given any instruction in relation to tachographs. Pero Foods had been his first job after leaving the Army.
The TC said that he took the view that it was up to professional drivers to satisfy themselves that they knew the law.
After Jones had said that the speeding had been totally his own fault, the TC said that it was crystal clear that in many accidents, and probably the mqjority, speeding was a factor.
Making the suspension order, the TC said that the Army was based on obeying rules, and it was exactly the same when driving a commercial vehicle.