Haulier did not know of drivers' hours offences
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• Selby livestock haulier Alec Blades Storey has been cleared of permitting four of his drivers to drive excessive hours and take insufficient rest.
Prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, Richard Wadkin said an employer was required to organise work in such a way that the driver could comply with the drivers hours regulations.
He added that the employer was required to make periodic checks to ensure the regulations were being complied with and, if there were breaches, to take steps to prevent any repetition.
An employer was guilty of permitting such offences if he knew they were likely to be committed and took no steps to prevent them. said %Yadkin.
DOT traffic examiner Ian Tucker said he had stopped one of Storey's vehicles at Boston Spa. A tachograph chart produced by the driver Steven Cowling showed he had exceeded the permitted daily driving limit.
An examination of tachograph charts for two months revealed the other offences. Drivers had been on duty for as long as 3(ihr 25min, had driven for as long as 17hr 20min and had taken as little as fihr 45min rest.
When he subsequently interviewed Storey. Tucker asked him what steps he had taken since being reported for similar offences in April 1995.
Storey had replied that al: the charts were now sent out for professional analysis and the drivers had been warned.
Tucker said he was unaware of any warnings issued to drivers after April 1995 and he was not subsequently told by Storey of any valid reasons for the breaches. The drivers had been working under Storey's direction.
However, Tucker agreed with Gary Hodgson, defending, that the charts had only just come back from analysis when he collected them. He agreed there was no evidence that Storey ft:, notion that the offences w. -.11:.[ be committed.
Hodgson said six offenc .vere found out of 160 chart .ammed. It was not a situatios \ I iere there was a pattern of repeated offences and it could not be said that Storey had been reckless.
The magistrates directed that Storey's defence costs be paid out of public funds. The drivers were fined between .£100 and .C300 with .C.35 costs.