loliday coach firms fined m drivers' hours offences
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I Two South Wales coach perators and six of their drivrs were last week fined nearly 10,000 by Avon North Magis-ates for falsifying tachograph harts.
Gwyn Jones & Son, of 1ridgend, director John Gwyn )nes and two of his drivers /ere orderd to pay a total of 3,104 alongside Howard MainTaring of Mainline Travel from 'onyrefail and four of his drivrs, who were ordered to pay total of £6,729.
The drivers were fined mounts varying between £125 nd 2200 for falsifying charts, nd the operators were fined :500 per offence for causing he falsifications.
Steve Carpenter, prosecutrig, said the investigation folowed allegations that charts lad been falsified to cover up he number of hours drivers iad spent on duty on trips to iouthern France and Spain with operator Ferris Holidays.
Gwyn Jones & Son and Vlainline Travel worked as subxontractors to Ferris, and when tachograph charts for -heir Ferris journeys had been found to be false by omission, the prosecution discovered that gurneys into Spain and back alto France had not been recorded. The drivers should have been taking a minimum of eight hours' rest at the other
end, but had not done so, said Carpenter, and the vehicles had been turning round in something like two hours.
Police Constable Brian Biggs, of Avon and Somerset police, gave details of the tachograph chart analysis telling the court of a trip to the Costa Brava which had taken 55 hours' driving time and in which no more than three hours' rest had been taken. Biggs alleged that the charts had been false because they had not shown the full tour.
Defending, Richard Harvard said that the only reason that the offences had arisen was the involvement of the two firms with Ferris Holidays. They had all been last-minute jobs and the arrangements had had to be made quickly. He said that the operators had been put under very considerable pressure to meet deadlines.
Both firms had had an excellent reputation in the Rhondda Valley, and the court was not dealing with firms which regularly went about breaking the regulations, claimed Harvard. EI Ten drivers employed by Ferris Holidays were earlier ordered to pay fines and costs totalling 26,781 for falsifying charts, and the company and another 26 drivers are to face similar allegations before the magistrates in October.