Hours convictions for DSH
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• Staffordshire haulier DSH Freight Services, and its transport manager Shaun Hughes, have been convicted of permitting and aiding and abetting drivers to breach the drivers' hours rules.
Appearing before the Cheadle magistrates the company, of Mobberley, near Teen, denied 10 offences of permitting drivers to drive excessive hours, take insufficient rest and fail to keep a tachograph record. But it admitted eight offences of the unauthorised use of vehicles. The company was fined £8,000 with £207.50 costs.
Hughes, of Draycolt Old Road, Stoke-on-Trent, denied aiding and abetting drivers to drive excessive hours, take insufficient rest and fail to use a tacho chart. He was fined £2,000 with £207.50 costs.
Prosecuting for the DOT, Michael McKnight said the offences were revealed when a traffic examiner checked the company's tachograph charts for May 1994. As transport manager Hughes was responsible for the scheduling of the work and it was apparent from the scheduling that the drivers could not comply with the hours requirements. McKnight maintained that the company had turned a blind eye to the obvious, as there was no proper system for checking charts or disciplining drivers when the regulations were breached.
Traffic examiner Richard Denby said the 0-licence was in the name of David Hughes, trading as DSH Freight Services. Director Valerie Hughes had admitted that the company did not hold a licence, despite previous advice, said Denby. Drivers had been behind the wheel for up to iihr 22min in a ay and had taken as little as 7hr 20min rest. The charges were specimen offences.
Valerie Hughes said the girl who had checked the tachograph charts had left in April. She took over the task but had got behind because the administration manager had been off work sick. She had given verbal warnings to drivers but they had not been recorded. She had riot known at the time that the drivers were exceeding the hours limits and had not realised there was a problem from the charts she had seen.
In reply to McKnight, Shaun Hughes said he had been in business since 1979 and over the years he had lost touch with the specific detail of the regulations.
If a driver got back late he would give him less work the following day. He never mentioned hours or rest periods as they were professionals and knew how to plan their day.
Defending, Michael Carless argued that the company and Hughes had not known that anything was wrong.