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Suspended licences for tachograph fiddle
Page 12
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• by Mike Jewell Two Welsh tipper operators and a technician who fitted interrupter devices to their vehicles have had their HGV licences suspended by Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon.
Last week a Mold disciplinary inquiry heard that Corwenbased Ian Bryn Roberts had been fined £1,000 by Llandudno magistrates for 22 tacho chart falsification offences.
Ruthin-based John Gwyn Jones had been fined £500 by Denbigh magistrates for 12 offences of falsification and one of aiding and abetting tachograph technician Richard Williams to falsify a record. Williams had been fined £1,150 for aiding and abetting Roberts and Jones to falsify records.
Traffic examiner Geoffrey Whitley said this was one of the most serious matters the Vehicle Inspectorate had investigated to date. It had taken expert knowledge to overcome the diagnostic features of the tachographs. The device not only immobilised the tachograph, but also the speed limiter and speedometer.
Asked why he had the device fitted, Roberts said he needed nine hours to get the last load in and had mistakenly thought that moving in the quarry was counted as driving time. He accepted he had done it for financial gain.
Jones said the quarry had started opening later and he was struggling to get the loads in and get home to look after his children.
The Commissioner pointed out that almost 600 people died in accidents involving heavy vehicles last year, and many of these accidents were caused by tired drivers.
Suspending Roberts' 0-licence and his HGV driving licence during January, the TC commented that there was little chance of him re-offending.
As far as Jones' 0-licence was concerned, the TC regretted that he was unable to take any action because he had been sent a letter in April by the North Western Traffic Area saying that no action would be taken. But for that letter he would very probably have revoked the licence.
However, he did suspend Jones HGV driving licence for January.
Revoking Williams' HGV driving licence, and disqualifying him for 12 months, the Commissioner said he had been in a position of trust and had deliberately set out to make money by installing these devices. It was crystal clear that he was unfit to hold a vocational licence.