Prison sentence for fiddling tachos welcomed by RHA
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By Roger Brown THE ROAD HAULAGE Association (RHA) has welcomed an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, for a haulage boss from Northern Ireland who was convicted of forgery relating to tachograph records.
In a prosecution brought by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), Craigavon Magistrates' Court was told that in February 2011, as part of a joint enforcement operation, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and DVA examined vehicles owned by Co Armagh-based Dewart Transport, owned by Richard Dewart.
Several vehicles were seized on the grounds that tachograph interrupter devices had been installed that were capable of disabling the tachograph and speed limiter if activated.
DVA enforcement officers undertook a detailed examination of tachograph records and documentation at the firm's premises in Waringstown, Craigavon, as well as other data relating to the movements of the vehicles.
They identified instances where rest periods had been recorded by the tachograph recording equipment, yet other evidence showed the continued movement of the vehicles.
In these instances it was proven that an interrupter device had been activated to enable the driver to continue driving by simulating that the vehicle was stationary and, as a result, false tachograph records were created.
Dewart, 44, who pleaded guilty, was convicted under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.
RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning said: "Falsifying driving records is planned in advance and is one of the most serious offences in road haulage.
"Drivers and their employers do it because they can carry on driving for far longer than permitted under EU safety rules, which are designed to protect themselves and others.
"Not only are they are putting lives at risk, they are undermining the livelihoods of drivers who comply with the law. For that reason, the RHA considers that the only effective deterrent for such an offence is a custodial sentence," he added.