Bolton trio fined £1,365
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• Church Magistrates have imposed fines and costs totalling £7,365 on three of the partners in Bolton Haulage of Rishton and a number of its drivers who admitted falsifying tachograph charts, driving excessive hours and taking insufficient rest.
Prosecuting, John Lord said that the offences came to light when tachograph charts belonging to the firm were analysed by the Lancashire Police.
In mitigation Michael Cunningham, defending, said the offences were at the lower end of the scale of falsification and were not sophisticated. A number of the hours offences related to comparatively short periods where it was obvious from the charts that the drivers had been delayed in heavy traffic. One driver, for example, had reached the end of his permitted hours while stuck in traffic on the North Circular Road, where he could hardly be expected to simply climb into his bunk.
In two other cases drivers had been repeatedly warned to move on by police when parked in laybys under the threat of being 'clamped'.
A charge of falsification against one of the partners, Harry Bolton, had arisen out of the use of his tractor unit to go for a wash and shave after the washing facilities at the Hemel Hempstead lorry park had been closed.
Bolton was fined £950 with 230 costs for two offences of making false entries, two of excessive hours and one of insufficient rest. A second partner, Philip Bolton, was fined £550 with £30 costs for one offence of making a false entry and two of excessive hours. The third partner, Thomas Bolton, the firm's transport manager, was fined £3,000, with £30 costs on six charges of permitting drivers to exceed the hours limits and to take insufficient rest.
The drivers were Peter Singleton, of Great Harwood, fined 21,000 with 230 costs, on five offences of excessive hours and five of insufficient rest; Jack Benniston, of Clayton-le-Moors, fined £300 with £30 costs on two offences of excessive hours and four of insufficient rest; Edward Wright, of Blackburn, fined £700 with £30 costs on five offences of excessive hours and two of insufficient rest: Thomas Wheatcroft, of Accrington, fined £225, with 230 costs on one offence of making false entries, three offences of excessive hours and two of insufficient rest; and John Sharp, of Accrington, fined £400 with 230 costs on four offences of excessive hours.
The chairman of the magistrates, Stan Pilkington, said the bench was appalled at the lack of knowledge of the regulations shown by both drivers and management. An appeal is being considered by the firm against the severity of the fines.