Court slashes fine by 15%
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• A haulier convicted of a string of drivers' hours offences has won an appeal to knock nearly £40,000 off the original fine after claiming it was "totally inappropriate'.
Cyril Knowles, based in West Thurrock, Essex, was fined £52,200 last May at Cwmbran Magistrates Court after a Vehicle Inspectorate investigation produced more than 900 summonses for drivers' hours and tachograph offences.
The magistrates heard that the company had contravened European regulations by paying drivers by the mile.
But last month Newport Crown court reduced the fine to £13,840. The court took account of the assistance given to the Vehicle Inspectorate during the investigation; the fact that the company had pleaded guilty; and the specific detail of the offences.
Cyril Knowles operations manager Ian Wildish says: "A lot came down to drivers who had taken a minute or so less than the required rest period.
"At that time we were inspecting a sample of tachographs each week. But now we have moved to 100% checks. Every tachograph sheet goes for analysis each week."
The company is also in the process of changing to fixed salaries for drivers.