Tachograph technician is fined for 'hot wiring' job
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Tachograph tech nician Richard Williams, from
Denbigh, has been fined £850 for "hot wiring" the tachograph in a tipper belonging to a North Wales owner-driver. He was also ordered to pay £40 costs—which is the amount he was paid to disable the tacho.
Appearing before Llandudno magistrates, Williams pleaded guilty to 22 offences of aiding and abetting Corwen-based Ian Bryn Roberts to falsify tachograph records. Roberts admitted to 22 offences of falsification; he was fined £1,000, also with £40 costs.
Prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, Peter Egan said that when examiners requested Roberts tacho records for January-August 1998 there appeared to be something wrong with his tipper's tacho. They traced the wiring towards the impulse generator and found an extra wire which, when earthed, switched off everything except the tacho clock.
The tacho's diagnostic function had been disabled by the insertion of another wire. The tacho was removed and sent for forensic examination with a crimping tool which had been seized from Williams during another investigation.
When interviewed, Roberts said he had been struggling to get the last load in: Williams had fitted the illegal switch to his tacho at the roadside in a Denbigh industrial estate.
Williams, who had been employed by Volvo agents Thomas Hardie, had used his skills to beat the system, said Egan. It was very much a case of "gamekeeper turned poacher".
For Roberts, John Parsons said there had been a problem after the quarry opening times were reduced. He told the court that the switch had not been used every day, pointing out that of the 62 charts taken away only 22 had resulted in charges.
No long journeys were involved and Roberts had driven for 5,928 miles in the period concerned, said Parsons, who remarked that profit margins were very low in road haulage at
the moment. Graham Parry, appearing for Williams, said that he had not appreciated the seriousness of what he was doing and the risk he had been taking for the fairly minor financial reward of 240.
Williams had previously appeared before the Denbigh magistrates in March, when he admitted 12 offences of aiding and abetting another ownerdriver to falsify charts, and one offence of falsification. He was fined £350 with £250 costs ( CM25-31 March).