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Ignorance of regulations led to hours offences
Page 32
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SCOTTISH TRAFFIC Commissioner Joan Aitken warned Stranraer owner-driver Brian Ward about the consequences of committing further hours offences, but took no action against his HGV driving licence.
In March Crewe magistrates convicted Ward of two offences of exceeding the daily driving limit, one of taking insufficient daily rest and one of exceeding 41/2 hours' driving without taking the required break. He was fined £4.00 with £35 costs.
Ward said the hours offences were committed when he was working for Norfolk Line, undertaking refrigerated transport from Northern Ireland to various destinations in the UK.
The daily driving offences were the result of accumulated driving time due to a misinterpretation of the rules, he added.
The daily rest offence occurred after a ferryjourney when he disembarked and carried on driving. He had been unaware that the rest period had to be extended by two hours in such circumstances.
However, he was now fully aware of the drivers' hours rules.
The 41/2-hour driving offence had arisen due to a miscalculation — he had taken two breaks, which he had thought had totalled 45 minutes.
He had found paying the fines difficult. Two of his customers had gone into liquidation in the past two years owing him tens of thousands of pounds. He was now working for Morrisons Supermarkets and two other customers.
The business would be unable to keep going if his HGV driving licence was suspended. It was more difficult than it used to be, hut he still enjoyed it.
Ward told the TC he felt he would have been able to comply with the drivers' hours rules if he had been more aware of the fine detail of the regulations.