Disqualified for falsifying tacho records
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DEPUTY TRAFFIC commissioner (TC) for Scotland Richard McFarlane has disqualified a haulage boss from driving trucks for a period of 12 months after he was found guilty of making false records of his driving duty.
Following a November public inquiry in Edinburgh, the TC also revoked the O-licence of Rothesay-based Andrew Edwards, trading as Andy Edwards Haulage, for two vehicles and two trailers with immediate effect.
A Vosa traffic examiner stopped Edwards while he was driving a truck in August 2011. She asked Edwards to produce records relating to his driving duty, but noticed several disparities and proceeded to caution him.
The examiner analysed the tachograph charts recording the operator’s driving duties along with other documentation – including his running sheets – and reported him for five counts of making a false record and one offence of failing without a reasonable excuse to make a relevant record or entry of his work. Edwards pleaded guilty to all six offences at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court in July and was fined £600. The examiner told the deputy TC that Edwards had created false records to conceal daily rest infringements.
Her report highlighted one duty period approaching 62 hours where Edwards had not taken rests that qualified at the legal minimum of nine hours. In another instance, a tachograph record indicated Edwards had ceased his duty at 10.15pm.
But the driver’s running sheet seen by the examiner revealed he had in fact not finished working and made a delivery more than an hour later, between 11.40pm and 11.55pm.
Loss of good repute
Deputy TC McFarlane told the operator he was no longer of good repute and had also failed to demonstrate the appropriate financial standing required to keep his licence.