Suspended for tacho offences
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Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon has imposed a two-week suspension on the two-vehicle 0licence and HGV licence held by George Smith of Ysceifiog, near Holywell. Flintshire magistrates had previously fined Smith £300 for 10 offences of falsifying tachograph records (CM 20-26 July) but he continues to protest
his innocence. Traffic examiner Geoffrey Whitley told the inquiry that he had examined Smith's tachograph charts for a sixmonth period and suspected they had been falsified.
He obtained a list of computer-generated delivery notes from Tarmac Quarry Products, for whom Smith had been carrying construction materials.
When he compared the delivery notes with the tachograph records it seemed that rest periods had been recorded when the vehicle was in motion, either loading or weighing at the quarries. This required an interruption to the tachograph input; removing the fuse was a common way of doing this, Whitley added.
When interviewed Smith had denied falsifying his charts, saying he could not remember doing so, but if he had it was just to grab an extra few minutes in the quarry.
Agreeing that Smith had always denied pulling the fuse, Whitley told the inquiry that there were dozens of ways of interrupting a tachograph.
Jack Evans, appearing for Smith, said he had taken suffl Giant rest most days, though this was not always properly arranged. He could see no reason why Smith should fiddle his tachograph at all.
He had not set out to deliberately cheat the system; it was more a case of carelessness in not using the mode switch prop
erly. It was possible that the interruptions were due to a mechanical failure.
Making the suspension orders, the TC told Smith: Any falsification of tachograph records is a pretty serious matter. I consider that it was a deliberate act on your part."