Out of time appeal was not a 'ploy'
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• Consideration of disciplinary action against the licence held by Derwent Valley Lime Co of Consett was adjourned by North Eastern LA Keith Waterworth after he heard that the company's principal director, Tommy Ridley, was seeking leave to appeal out of time against convictions for falsifying tachograph records.
The company was at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry following a number of drivers' hours and tachograph convictions.
DOT traffic examiner David Rout said that in July 1993 fines totalling £430 had been imposed for a variety of tachograph offences, driving for 4.5 hours without the required break, and taking insufficient daily rest. Similar offences in July 1994 led to fines of £225, and in April of this year Ridley was convicted of falsifying tachograph records.
For the company, Cohn Ward said that Tommy Ridley had been in business for 32 years. For the past 12 years he had operated a single vehicle. The 4.5-hour driving offences had occurred before the European Court's ruling on the interpretation of the 4.5-hour rule.
Ridley was seeking leave to appeal out of time against the convictions for falsifying tachograph records, said Ward. He assured the LA that this was not a "ploy" to keep the licence.
Adjourning the proceedings, Waterworth said that the falsification offences were serious matters and he wanted to wait for the outcome of any appeal against those convictions before deciding what action to take.