You can't wind back the clock, driver told
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Edward Tudor Owen, of Cefn Mawr, who drove for Ruthin haulier LE Jones, was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling 21,190 after pleading guilty to 36 offences of falsifying tachograph records.
David James, prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, told Wrexham magistrates that all but three of the offences related to the entry of incorrect starting and finishing points; the remainder related to winding back the clock. James said that when the tachograph records were examined by Traffic Examiner Geoffrey Whitley, the pattern of driving appeared to be totally inconsistent with the journeys shown by the charts—the pattern was more consistent with travel to Owen's home in Cefn Mawr. The motive in such cases was often to claim an overnight allowance when the driver had actually slept at home, said James.
On one occasion Owen had removed the chart from the tachograph and wound the clod( forward. He then drove for another 2hr 20min to his home instead of stopping at Tebay totalling 11hr 20min, said James. The following morning Owen wound the clock back and put the chart back in the tachograph.
Gareth Rogers, for Owen, said he had offended because his wife was in a nursing home and he tried to get home as often as possible to visit her.