500 bill for false tachograph records
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• The falsification of tachograph records and taking insufficient daily rest has cost Surrey lorry driver Robert Butler .£500 in fines and cost& Butler, of Selby Green, Carshalton, pleaded guilty to two offences of falsification and two daily rest offences, when he appeared before Macclesfield magistrates.
Prosecuting for the Department of Transport, John Heaton said that in May a Bedford rigid carrying plastic bottles and driven by Butler was stopped in a check at Rostherne. It belonged to WC Finnis, trading as Wallington Carriers, of Mitcham.
Butler had produced tachograph charts dated 22 and 23
May showing an apparent legal nine-hour daily rest at Mitcham. However, the distance trace between the two charts did not match.
When the recordings were compared with the odometer readings entered on the centre fields, it became apparent that 50km was missing on 22 May and 40km missing on 23 May.
When charts produced for 25 and 26 May were examined, it was apparent that there was 10kna missing on 25 May and 58km missing on 26 May. The records implied that a nine-hour legal daily rest period had been taken at Manchester, but clearly there was sonic driving that had not been recorded.
When interviewed, Butler admitted that on 23 May he had started duty at Mitcham but had not put the chart in the tachograph until Morden. He was unable to explain the missing distance on 22 May.
He agreed that he had driven the vehicle during the nine-hour rest period shown at Manchester on 25/26 May.
The distance involved on the four charts was 1,561km and the amount of driving unrecorded was the time taken to drive 90km in one instance and 68km in the other, said Heaton.
Butler said he did not often work away from base and he had falsified the charts because he would not have arrived on the jobs in time had he taken the necessary breaks.
The magistrates fined Butler £120 on each of the false records offences and £80 on each of the daily rest offences. They also ordered him to pay 1;100 costs.