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David Lewis disqualified for using tachograph magnet

23rd June 2011, Page 7
23rd June 2011
Page 7
Page 7, 23rd June 2011 — David Lewis disqualified for using tachograph magnet
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DAVID LEWIS, sole director and operator of DA Lewis UPVC Installations, had his O-licence revoked by Welsh Traffic Area Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nick Jones from 30 June after a public inquiry (PI) in May.

TC Jones added that Lewis was no longer of good repute, thus disqualifying him from holding an O-licence for a period of 18 months. His company had been authorised for five vehicles and the same number trailers. In a separate driver conduct hearing, the TC also revoked Lewis’s vocational driving licence from 30 June and disqualified him from holding a vocational licence for 12 months.

Lewis had been stopped during a routine VOSA check at the Membury service station on the M4. A VOSA vehicle examiner discovered that a magnet preventing the proper recording of drivers’ hours had been attached to the sender unit. Lewis told the examiner he put the magnet on the sender unit when in North Kent.

The discovery of the magnet also resulted in both roadside prohibitions and a conviction for Lewis.

The TC described the use of the magnet as “wholly unacceptable” , adding: “The use of magnets is a practice that is intended to deceive and goes to the very heart of the relationship of trust.

“In my judgment, the use of a magnet by a driver or an operator must be seen by operators and drivers as rendering the strongest regulatory action as inevitable.”

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