Known fiddles
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Macho abuse has become I much more advanced but it's hard to believe operators do not knowing what's going on. Any operator worth his salt would know that if a driver gets back some three or four hours earlier from a regular UK run or a nearly a day earlier from a continental journey it has not been done leg-ally. Even so, they just close their eyes to it.
But not all operators are barldies and not all drivers are ies. Even when a driver is told there's no reason to run bent they still do sometimes—especially if they are "playing away from home".
You can never be sure that the named overnight stop is the correct one. And it never ceases to amaze me how a tacho could go wrong one day and be good the next.
As for cowboys, these are usually created by large operators which slash rates. You'll find operator A says that B down the road runs illegally. He knows because he employs B, so he condones it and condemns it. How hypocritical!
Is there an answer to all this ducking and weaving?! don't think so unless the industry exerts its own enforcement. Otherwise nothing will change.
Enforeement agencies need to understand better the difficulties of being an operator. Timed deliveries, ferry delays and congestion occasionally cause an driver to go over time. Operators should observe regulations, keep tacho charts and, once warned, try to do something about it instead of ignoring repeated advice.
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