Check your charts or face conviction
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by Michael Jewell • Operators who fail to check tachograph records can be convicted of permitting drivers' hours offences, the High Court has ruled. The judges decided that Leyland Magistrates were wrong to acquit Shane Nuttall, trading as Redline Travel, of Leyland, of 18 offences of permitting drivers to breach the hours rules. The Vehicle Inspectorate had appealed against the magistrates' decision.
Paul O'Brien, for the VI, said that Nuttall admitted he had no system for checking tachograph charts. This, the VI argued, showed he had been turning a blind eye to the obvious.
Mark Lapprell, for Nuttall, denied this, saying his client had scheduled journeys so they could be completed within the legal hours. Lapprell argued that even if there had been a system for checking charts it would not have revealed that offences were likely to have been committed.
Mr Justice Popplewell said it did not take a High Court judge to know that many commercial vehicle drivers broke the drivers' hours regu lations. He added that if a haulier could be shown to be "turning a blind eye to the obvious" then he could be guilty of permitting hours offences.
H there was no system for regularly checking tachograph charts and they were later found to reveal offences, then this indicated that the employer had been turning a blind eye, said Popplewell. He stressed that the double duty on hauliers was to plan journeys to avoid breaking hours limits and to make regular checks to ensure the rules were not being broken.
Popplewell and Lord Justice McCowan refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, saying that leave would have to be sought direct from the Lords.