Freight News
Page 16
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Hours offences cost £2,275
DRIVERS' HOURS offences cost a husband and wife and three of their drivers a total of £2,275 in fines and costs when they appeared before the Knutsford, Cheshire magistrates.
Susan Jackson, trading as Jackson Express Deliveries of Macclesfield, was fined £1,600 with £200 costs after admitting causing and permitting the drivers' offences.
Her husband, Thomas Jackson, was fined £300 after admitting three offences of making false entries in tachograph charts.
Trevor Connor, of Macclesfield, was fined £225 on four offences of exceeding permitted driving and working hours and one of failing to make entries on a tachograph chart.
Daniel Haslam of Macclesfield was fined £100 on two offences of exceeding the permitted working day and Michael Shuttleworth of Macclesfield was fined £350 for seven such offences.
The fourth driver, John Hill of Buxton, was dealt with at an earlier court, being fined £30 with £20 costs on two charges of taking insufficient rest (CM, October 20). A charge of aiding and abetting Mr Jackson to make a false entry against a fifth driver, Martin Selfe of Macclesfield, was adjourned until December.
Prosecuting for North Western Licensing Authority Roy Hutchings, Christopher Worthy said that some of the drivers were subject to the national rules and some who were driving vans under 3.5 tonnes to the domestic rules. There was no legal obligation for the latter to keep records but perhaps for commercial reasons, records had been kept and they revealed the offences.
When interviewed by a traffic examiner, Mr Connor had said it was a case of having to get the work done in the day and get back. Mr Haslam had said he did not know there were any restrictions on small vans. Mrs Jackson had said much the same thing. She also said that most of the drivers were young lads who were keen and anxious to impress.
Mr Selfe had used two charts each day, not entering his name on one. On his return to base, Mr Jackson, who did not hold an hgv driving licence, then entered his own name on the chart to hide the fact that Mr Selfe had done all the driving.
For the defence, it was said that the handbook produced by the Department of Transport relating to the drivers' hours regulations was difficult to understand.
The first false record had arisen out of a foolish act of humanity by Mr Jackson, who had agreed to help out when Mr Selfe needed to get home because of personal problems instead of staying out over night. Mr Selfe subsequently put pressure on Mr Jackson to do it again until Mr Selfe was eventually dismissed.