1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212 
Boss and drivers fined £4,500 for hours offences
Page 37
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Two drivers for a Cheshire firm regularly didn't take their 45-minute
break — and one claimed his only training was the showing of a video.
AN ELLESMERE Port operator has been fined nearly .£2,000 for 13 offences of permitting his drivers to break the drivers' hours regulations.
Lee Whittaker, trading as Fasthill, and his two self-employed drivers,John and Ian Powell, were ordered to pay a total of £4,538 in tines and costs by the Ellesmere Port and Neston magistrates.
John Powell pleaded guilty to three 41/2-hour driving offences and one of failing to produce a tachograph. He was fined £650 with £148 costs. Ian Powell pleaded guilty to 10 41/2-hour driving offences and was fined £1,675 with £175 costs.
Guilty plea
Whittaker pleaded guilty to 13 offences of permitting the 41/2-hour driving offences and to one of failing to produce tachograph records. He was fined £1,890 with £175 costs.
Prosecuting for Vosa, David James said that an investigation began after john Powell was stopped in a roadside check last September and his tachograph charts showed his offences. Ian Powell's offences varied between nine hours 48 minutes of driving with no acceptable breaks and five hours 10 minutes of driving with only a 32-minute break.
Asked what training he had received, Ian Powell said he had been shown a video. He added that he had forgotten to use the mode switch or to record that fact on the back of the charts. He admitted that he had had a warning letter from Whittaker.
Whittaker clearly had not had a sufficient system of checks and controls to ensure that his drivers complied with the drivers' hours rules, James said. He had been unable to produce a number of original tachograph records but had been able to produce photocopies.
Ian Powell said he was sorry for what had happened and that he had no excuse. Whittaker claimed he had told the Powells plenty of times to take 45 minutes' break but they had not listened to him. He had not used them since January.
A serious matter
In fining the men. the magistrates said they took the matter very seriously as the public had been regularly put at risk, Whittaker had been responsible for making sure that such offences were not committed..