French driver fined for flouting hours rules and failure to properly fit trailer
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AN OVERTIRED French driver who exceeded his hours and lost a poorly-secured trailer in the centre of Bedworth, near Coventry, has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £6.575.
Joaquim Nederos Teixeira, a driver employed by Express Freight (France), pleaded guilty to using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, exceeding the daily driving limit and taking insufficient daily rest. Nuneaton Magistrates heard that, as Teixeira left the company's Bedworth depot in Bayton Road, the trailer became detached and ended up in the gateway of nearby Shearings Coaches. Traffic examiner William Hutchinson said that the pin of the semi-trailer had not gone into the jaws and was rest ing on the fifth wheel. When Teixeira's tractor moved off, the pin dropped and smashed the locking mechanism. An examination of Teixeira's tachograph charts showed that he had driven for 12 hours 16 minutes, with only seven hours 30 minutes rest in the 24-hour period.The magistrates finedTeixeira £3,500 for using a dangerous vehicle and £1,500 on each of the drivers' hours offences.
They endorsed his driving licence with three penalty points and ordered him to pay £75 towards the costs of the prosecution.