Three-year ban for undeclared offences
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Scarborough-based Ricaro Internationale bought red diesel from “toe rags on the A64”
By Patric Cunnane
A SCARBOROUGH-based operator, who received a suspended prison sentence in February for tachograph iddling, has had his licence revoked and has been banned from obtaining a new one for three years. He also lost his good repute as transport manager.
A Leeds public inquiry heard that Cedric Lawson, trading as Ricaro Internationale, had failed to declare the conviction to the Trafic Commissioner (TC). The irm holds an international licence for two vehicles and two trailers.
In a separate incident, in September 2010, Lawson’s vehicle had been impounded by HMRC for using red diesel, which he claimed to have bought cheaply from “a couple of toe rags on the A64” .
The vehicle had two tanks – one for white diesel while the other contained red diesel, dyed dark blue, which Lawson claimed was for anti-theft purposes. He paid a penalty of £6,100 for unpaid fuel tax and a £500 ine. This had not been reported to the TC.
North Eastern TC Tom Macartney heard that Lawson had been convicted at York Crown Court of the tachograph offences. These included failing to produce charts, nine specimen counts of false records and three specimen counts of failing to take enough rest in 24 hours. He was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and a curfew order for three months when working locally. Representing Lawson, Julian Tanikal said he was also given a hefty ine.
The tachograph offences had emerged in April 2010 when a trafic examiner had analysed charts from October 2009 to January 2010. The analysis revealed numerous offences and missing kilometres.
The trafic examiner told the TC that he believed Lawson was “a danger to other road users” . Lawson told the TC that he had been put under considerable customer pressure to work in a way that forced him to falsify his records.
In revoking Lawson’s licence, disqualifying him for three years and removing his repute as transport manager, the TC noted that Lawson had admitted falsifying his records in a “sophisticated method of removing and replacing a fuse to conceal a large scale breach of the drivers’ hours regulations, which made him a danger to other road users” .
Lawson’s admission of buying red diesel on at least six occasions went to the heart of the good repute of any operator.
The TC accepted that, apart from exceeding inspection intervals, Lawson had a good maintenance record, and glowing references submitted showed that he was held in high regard.