1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
Drivers sent to Crown Court
Page 18
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Firm could be prosecuted for aiding and abetting drivers to commit tacho
offences. Mike Jewell reports.
GARFORTH-BASED Whitkirk Produce could be in for a rough ride over the next few weeks after a District Judge said the firm should be considered for prosecution over aiding and abetting its drivers to commit tacho offences.
Judge RoyAnderson was speaking at Leeds Magistrates Court when he committed two of the company's drivers to the Crown Court for sentence.
Robert Gibson, of Kelso, and Kerr Morton, of Alnwick, both pleaded guilty to 11 offences of falsifying tachograph records. Two of the company's other drivers were ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,050; a third was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £100 costs.
Committing the two men for sentence, Anderson said only a Crown Court could impose an appropriate sentence for these offences.
The cases involving a further 11 drivers were adjourned until 15 September.Terence Frost pleaded not guilty to one offence of failing to keep a tachograph record; his case was adjourned until 24 September.
The case against the company was adjourned until November after Richard Wadkin, prosecuting for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, said investigations were continuing and further charges were pending. Wadkin said when police and traffic examiners raided the company's base they found only a few tachograph charts so the only information they had to go on was the drivers' timesheets. But the offences were immediately revealed by these forms, which had a column headed "state jobs done over tacho hours". For example, in that column, Gibson had entered: "Loaded at Wales without tacho in so could start early" and "tipped with tacho out so I could leave at 6 o'clock in the morning".
Driver John Dawson was fined £500 with £250 costs for three offences of falsification , one of failing to keep a record, five of insufficient daily rest and three of insufficient weekly rest He had written in that column: "Running back from Coalville to Garforth" and "tipping at farm without tacho in".
Driver Brian Chapman, who was given a conditional discharge for one offence of falsification and one of failing to keep a record, said he had worked for Whitkirk only until he could get a better job because of the pressure he had been under.
Toby Hartwell was fined 000 with £100 costs for one offence of failing to keep a record and four of taking insufficient weekly rest. His solicitor, Gary Hodgson, said Hartwell was a young driver in his first job. At one point, he claimed, Hartwell had been told: "We put you through your HGV test at great expense and we need a favour from you."
Anderson said he was prepared to accept that Hartwell had been under some pressure in the sense that he wanted to return a favour. But these offences involved public safety. It was apparent to anyone that drivers had to take proper rest periods if the public were not to be put at risk.
Another driver, Paul Moate, is due to appear before Leeds Crown Court on 6 September, charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.