Titanic hours case is tip of the iceber
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FALSE tachograph charts and excessive hours cost associated companies M & S Motors (Leigh) Ltd and S & W Garages (Atherton) Ltd and eight of their drivers 0,740 in fines and costs when they appeared before the Leigh, Lancashire magistrates last week.
M & S Motors admitted 11 offences of permitting drivers to exceed their hours and one of causing a driver to make a false record. S & W Garages admitted 36 offences of permitting drivers to exceed their hours, two offences of permitting them to have insufficient rest, and 11 offences of causing them to make false records.
Barry Critchley, of Astley, admitted five hours offences; James Draper, of Golborne, six hours offences, and one of making a false record; Gerald Carroll, of Leigh, six hours offences, and three of making false records; John Higginson, of Atherton, four hours offences, two of having insufficient rest, and three of making a false record; Harold Birchall, of Tyldesley, five hours offences, and one of making a false record; Peter Kennedy, of App ley Bridge, six hours offences; Benjamin Bradley, of Leigh, nine hours offences, and one of making a false record; and Brian Aspinall, of Atherton, six hours offences, and three of making false records.
A further 158 other charges viere either withdrawn or no evidence was offered after the defendents denied them.
Prosecuting for the North Western Licensing Authority, Christopher Worthy said the charges were the tip of the iceberg in that they were a sample of the offences identified. The matter arose when one of the drivers was stopped by the police in Staffordshire, and it was seen from his tachograph charts that he had worked excessive hours. As a result, a traffic examiner carried out a further check of the records of the two companies.
To the honest driver, the tachograph was a boon, as it reduced the burden of his record keeping. However, like any machine it was only as good as the person operating it. It was a comparatively new instrument and the means used to interfere with the recordings were coming to light all the time.
It had been the practice of the drivers to make two charts per day, putting a false name on the second chart to hide the fact that excessive hours had been driven. The names used included those of the transport manager, A. O'Kell, and a director of the two companies, S. Walsh.
When interviewed, some of the drivers said they had been instructed to make false charts and that they would have lost their jobs if they had not done so. One driver said that if he "talked" he would get the sack.
Defending, John Backhouse said that whatever the reason for the offence it was not financial gain. The drivers were paid a basic wage plus a bonus worked on productivity, and in fact they were earning substantially more now that they were doing the job properly.
The position on drivers' hours had been confused over the last few years because of the phas ing in of the EEC regulations. The two companies introduced tachographs last year and got into a muddle. They accepted that they had not given their drivers sufficient instruction.
The drivers were working a basic five day week but were given a lot of freedom as to how they fitted the work in. The result was that rest periods were not taken in sufficient blocks to break up the working days. It had been left to a girl to check the charts and it was accepted that she did not do so. The two companies had gone to considerable expense in installing a new system to put the situation right.
M & S Motors was fined £320 with £100 costs; S & W Garages £1,860 with £400 costs; Mr Critchley was fined £50; Mr Draper £100; Mr Carroll £180; Mr Higginson £190; Mr Birchell £90; Mr Kennedy £60; Mr Bradley £130; and Mr Aspinall £180. All the drivers were ordered to pay £10 costs each.