Pedlow fined for several tacho offences
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COUNTY ARMAGH haulier Pedlow Transport has been fined £4,200 for a series of tachograph offences.
In a Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) prosecution, Craigavon Magistrates’ Court was told how in September 2011 officers from the agency stopped a truck operated by the firm.
When the vehicle was examined, officers found that a switch, which had the effect of disabling the truck’s tachograph, had been fitted. The owner was asked to produce the record sheets of all his vehicles for analysis, but could only partially fulfil the requirement. As a result, DVA staff visited the company’s premises and examined all other vehicles. Officers then discovered that on several other vehicles tachograph systems were not sealed correctly.
Pedlow Transport was fined £1,500 for the offence of installing a device to interfere with the proper operation of recording equipment. The firm was also fined £150 for an additional 18 offences, which included: • three counts of the tachograph recording equipment not being sealed correctly; • seven counts of failing to produce record sheets or printouts; • one count of failure to make regular checks to ensure compliance; • one count of failure to ensure drivers returned record sheets within 42 days; • four counts of breaching drivers’ hours regulations.
All the charges were brought under the Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) Regulations (NI) 1996 & Road Traffic (NI) Order 1995.
Tough courts
Courts in Northern Ireland are continuing to come down hard on operators that breach the tachograph regulations.