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Licence suspended over hours offences
Page 22
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Allegations of fuse-pulling found to be untrue following maintenance investigation, but false records found.
BREACHES OF drivers' hours regulations and maintenance problems have led to an 18-day licence suspension for an international operator.
However, allegations of tachograph interference were found to be untrue following an investigation conducted by traffic examiners Newmain-based Fenton Transport faced Scottish Traffic Commissioner Joan Ai tken.The firm holds an 0-Licence for 10 vehicles and 11 trailers, and had been called before the TC at an Edinburgh disciplinary inquiry.
The investigation was prompted by allegations that Fenton drivers were exceeding their hours and pulling fuses to disguise their true hours.
The fuse-pulling allegations were found to be untrue, but a total of 282 tachograph charts and 39 digital taeho records were analysed, which revealed apparent offences, including: eight false records; 47 of exceeding four-and-a-half hours' driving without the required breaks; 21 of insufficient daily rest; 14 of exceeding the fortnightly driving limit; 10 of exceeding the daily driving limit: and seven of failing to keep the correct records.
The TC heard that, during an arranged maintenance investigation in May, two artics and two trailers were checked, resulting in an `S'-endorsed immediate prohibition being issued to one of the trailers for fractured disc brakes.
Over the past five years,12 immediate and nine delayed prohibitions and 11 variation notices had been issued.
The prohibitions issued were for a range of offences, including problems with brakes and speed limiters.
Director Neil Fenton said that he had collected the charts, but failed to check them against either fuel receipts or delivery notes.
The Freight Transport Association undertook quarterly analysis of random drivers. Fenton reprimanded drivers, but did not go so far as to issue them with written warnings.
He had never given instructions to "tip off the chart" (delivering loads unrecorded by tacho) and had never put pressure on drivers to falsify charts.
He believed they were professional drivers with knowledge of the rules and they'd been given training.Tacho records were now monitored byTayside Training, including checking the charts against fuel receipts Many of the prohibited vehicles had since been disposed of, and some of the trailers replaced. The vehicles were inspected by a Mercedes-Benz agent, and he had hired a consultant engineer to carry out random checks.
The TC said she was certain some Fenton drivers had been tipping off the chart and that Fenton could not be detached from responsibility for that. The number of prohibitions and failures at annual test was worrying.