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VOSA wins tali° appeal
Page 22
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An appeal from VOSA after a driver was acquitted of tampering with his tacho chart has been
upheld by the High Court. Mike Jewell reports.
The High Court has granted an appeal by VOSA after a truck driver was acquitted of tampering with his tachograph when he proved he hadn't removed the chart.
This ruling could have major implications over the way tachos are administered and handled, with consequences for operators and drivers alike.
Milton Keynes magistrates acquitted Neil Jones of two offences of unlawfully withdrawing the chart from his tachograph before the end of his working day.
The magistrates accepted that Jones' tachograph had been interfered with, which resulted in a false reading — but the chart had not actually been removed from the tachograph.
Jones admitted that he had interfered with the tachograph, but denied withdrawing the chart. He claimed the speedometer had not been working and told the court that he had simply opened the tachograph head to see if it had become jammed.
The law surrounding misuse of tachographs is the 1968TransportAct.This states that drivers must use record sheets on every day they are driving, starting from the moment they take over the vehicle. The record sheet must not be withdrawn before the end of the daily working period unless its withdrawal is authorised.
A question of withdrawal
The High Court allowed an appeal by VOSA against the magistrates' decision. Lord Justice Keen said the question for the court was whether the opening of the tachograph head constituted a withdrawal of the chart. Opening the head lifted the stylus from the chart, which caused the recording to stop.
For VOSA, Tim Nesbitt argued that the answer must be yes; otherwise the regulatory system could he readily undermined by drivers.
Lord Keen was persuaded that on a "broad purposive approach" any action that lifted the record sheet from the stylus could be interpreted as falling within the word "withdraw" so the record sheet did not have to be totally removed from the tachograph to be withdrawn.
The case has been sent back to the magistrates with a direction that they convict. •