Tacho expert needed
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A complaint
from French police led to Birmingham
owner-driver Peter Brothwood appearing at disciplinary proceedings before West Midland LA John Mervyn Pugh.
The LA adjourned consideration of action against Brothwood's licence, because he was not satisfied with Brothwood's answer to French allegations that he had falsified tachograph charts.
Mervyn Pugh said that according to the report from France, Brothwood had been stopped for speeding. The French police said that a chart was not fitted to the tachograph and it was not recording. When they searched the cab they found a wire with a bulldog clip attached to the end. Brothwood was fined 4,600 Francs.
For Brothwood, Alan Micklegohn said it was alleged that he was driving "on the wire". But that could only be done with an electronic tachograph—not
the cable-driven tachograph in Brothwood's vehicle. Brothwood had mistakenly bought the wrong type of tachograph charts in France, which led to the misfit in the tachograph itself. The tachograph was malfunctioning, Brothwood was close to home and he decided it was best to return home and get it repaired.
Mervyn Pugh said that either Brothwood had falsified charts or had driven very few hours in France, but Brothwood maintained that he had done nothing wrong; the needle was not functioning and he thought that the cable was broken. The French police would not believe the wire was for checking circuits.
Adjourning the proceedings, Mervyn Pugh said that Brothwood was going to have to call a tachograph expert to give evidence. The French police believed the wire was for getting round the tachograph regulations. There was no evidence to refute that belief and, unless he was satisfied in June, the chances of Brothwood's licence remaining intact were zero.