The first three of 60 drivers for Okehamptonbased Bryan Haulage accused of drivers' hours offences have been successfully prosecuted.
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Paul Carpenter, of Redruth, was fined £1,800 with £125 costs after he pleaded guilty to 33 charges of falsifying tachograph charts and three of using a false instrument (a forged chart).
Defending. Alastair Pilling said Carpenter was driven to commit the offences by his pay and conditions. New pay rules meant he was only being paid £6.30 an hour—and he was only paid while his vehicle was moving. Pilling pointed out that many of the offences involved distances of between two and five kilometres; distances consistent with shuttling around the yard. The offences may have constituted a risk to road safety, but considering the typical amounts of time involved and the distances involved, it had not been a grave risk.
At the same hearing Christopher Taylor, of Taunton, pleaded guilty to two charges of falsification. He was fined £100 with £200 costs. Ian Wherlock, of Bristol, pleaded guilty to four similar charges. He was fined 1200 with £200 costs.