Brothers broke the rules in a bid to save their business
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Two brothers who committed a string of offences while trying to keep their haulage business afloat have had their HGV driving licences suspended for three weeks.
Last July Clive Griffiths, of Flint, was convicted of 25 offences of falsifying tachograph records; Keith Griffiths, of Holywell, was convicted of 23 similar offences.
Clive Griffiths was also convicted of making a false declaration in order to obtain a vehicle excise licence—he was ordered to do 240 hours of community service (CM15-21 July1999).
When the brothers appeared before Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon last week he told them that the convictions showed a lack of respect for the
law and for other people.
Clive Griffiths replied that they had got further and further into debt and the cheque for the excise licence had bounced. His community service, fines and back duty had made him lose his business and go bankrupt—for some months he had been working for Kenmac.
When the TC heard that Clive Griffiths had children he stressed the importance of the drivers' hours rules, pointing out that children had been killed by tired drivers.
Keith Griffiths also said the offences had been committed as they were falling further into debt. The TC replied: "The law doesn't say you can fiddle your tachograph records when your business is doing badly."
Asked about earlier convictions for Construction 8/. Use offences, Keith Griffiths replied that they had realised they were not cut out to maintain vehicles. He agreed he had been very stupid and that they would never do it again.
Summing up, the TC said 3,500 people a year died on the roads through 'things drivers would never do again". Accidents were caused by
someone doing something stupid. There was a one-in-three chance in someone's lifetime that they would be injured in an accident, and that was a horrifying statistic. Suspending the licences, the TC said that if the brothers appeared before him again they should expect to lose their licences for a long time, if not permanently.