Fined driver challenges regs
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• A haulier who was fined £300 for exceeding his driving hours by 30 minutes after being held up in roadworks is calling for the drivers' hours regulations to be clarified.
Lincolnshire-based Stephen McFarlane, who has held an unblemished HGV licence for 22 years, is also questioning the competence of the vehicle inspector involved.
The haulier was asked by the inspector at the Ml's Woodall services to hand over his tachograph chart. "I wanted to write an explanation on the back of the chart but the inspector did not give me the opportunity," says McFarlane.
According to the guide to drivers' regulations, a provision is made for drivers who are unable to reach a "suitable stopping place" within the legal four-and-a-half hours. The guide states "if this happens the driver must note all the reasons for it happening on the back of his tachograph record".
Having unsuccessfully pleaded his case with the Vehicle Inspectorate, McFarlane is now planning to contest his fine through Sheffields Magistrates' Court.
In a letter to the clerk to the justices, he writes: "How on God's earth can you fine somebody for following the rules as laid down by a government department?"
He adds: "How can I be held responsible and used as a scapegoat for his incompetence? As a traffic examiner, he should be fully conversant with law and the driver's rights to give an explanation."