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Police blunder lets driver off lightly on charges
Page 32
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A BLUNDER IN the way evidence was gathered has led to a driver escaping serious charges of falsifying tachograph records and taking insufficient daily rest.
Michael Williamson. of Portadown. Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty before Chester Magistrates to a lesser charge of failing to produce tachograph records and was fined £100 with £85 costs.
Prosecuting for VOS A, David James said that on 10 June a traffic examiner was called to the Knutsford service area where he approached a Scania artic.The driver, Williamson, produced his current tachograph chart,saying he had no other records. However,when police searched the cab for another purpose they found further tachograph charts that they handed to the traffic examiner.
For Williamson, David Glover said that the driver had not produced the tachograph records when asked because he had 'panicked' at the check site. Glover requested that defence costs of £1,166 be paid out of public funds but magistrates directed only £500 to come from the public purse.
James, for VOSA, told the magistrates that the police had carried out the search under different legislation and certain documents were handed to the traffic examiner. He believed it was appropriate to withdraw the original charges because of the way the documents were obtained.