7 AXLE/VEHICLE Superv i sor fa il e d le d s du ti es
Page 18
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A series of tachograph offences cost Bolton furniture manufacturer Gresham Bennett £5,650 in fines and costs when it appeared before the town's magistrates.
The company pleaded guilty to 13 offences of failing to produce tachograph charts; 13 offences of failing to secure the return of charts within 21 days; 13 offences of failing to retain charts for 12 months; five offences of using a vehicle with a defective tachograph; and two offences of using a vehicte when the tachograph charts were damaged. It was fined £5,350 with £100 costs.
Prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate. John Heaton said that when the company's tachograph records were checked, charts could not be produced for 13,499km. Operators were obliged to carry Out periodic checks of their tachograph records to ensure drivers were complying with the drivers' hours legislation, Heaton added. For these checks to be effective, all the charts had to be available.
Pointing out that a number of the company's drivers had been fined at an earlier hearing for a variety of offences committed between August and October 1998, Heaton said the company's transport supervisor had admitted that drivers had not been disciplined for those offences.
For the company, Chris Taylor said it had never been prosecuted before. The offences had arisen because of inadequate supervision of the transport supervisor, who had failed to do his job.
Only seven of the company's 18 drivers had committed offences, he added. There were now two trained members of staff and the Freight Transport Association was carrying out monthly checks. The drivers had been given further advice and had all attended an in-house seminar.
The company was committed to ensuring that it did not appear in court again and was now facing the attention of the Traffic Commissioner.