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Tribunal not for turning
Page 33
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Operators convictions for falsrying tacho records and unauthorised vehicle use count against him in appeal against licence application.
A WELSH-speaking operator. who claimed to he "confused" by the 0-licensing regulations, has lost his appeal against the Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon's refusal to grant him a licence.
Holyhead-based John Rhys Williams' application for four vehicles and two trailers in the name of.1RW Services was rejected because of unauthorised vehicle use and convictions for the falsification of tachograph records.
Williams was granted a licence in 1996; this was surrendered when a limited company he formed, JRW Services, was granted a licence in 2000.That company was dissolved in May 2003, but its licence was not surrendered and Williams continued to operate vehicles under that licence without notifying the TC of the change.
Williams was employed as a driver by NR Evans from July 2002 to February 2003; following an investigation into that company's activities he was convicted of eight offences of falsifying tachograph records, asking for 14 similar offences to be taken into account.
The IC concluded that Williams had lost his repute because of those convictions and the unauthorised use. He remarked that Williams was not a novice in the industryand knew different licences were required when operating as a sole trader and as a company. 1 le must have done because he had applied for a new licence in 2000 when changing his trading status from a sole trader to a limited company.
Dixon concluded that the tachograph convictions were serious as they directly affected road safety.
Tim Nesbitt, appearing before the Tribunal for Williams, said he was unsophisticated and his first language was Welsh. He had been genuinely confused about the 0-licensing regulations when he had reverted to being a sole trader and if he had made a fresh licence application in 2002 it would have been granted.
Falsification culture
"Fhere had been a widespread culture of the falsification of tachograph records in NR Evans' workforce, with 60 drivers being convicted of a large number of offences,Nesbitt added.
One of Williams' complaints was that the NR Evans' licence had not been revoked although that firm had overworked its drivers and put them under pressure without adequate training or monitoring. That decision must be relevant to Williams' case, he argued.
The Tribunal rejected that argument because by the time of the NR Evans public inquiry the company had replaced personnel and overhauled its systems to the extent that the TC concluded they could not be improved.
Falsification offences could not be categorised as anything other than serious, said the Tribunal. As an experienced operator and transport manager Williams should have known the hours and tachograph rules and the implications of falsifying tachograph charts. •