court reportCourtReportTampered withTachographsA haulage company wasconvicted at CraigavonMagistrates Court andfined a total of £8,700 plus£13 court costs followinga special investigation byDVA Vehicle Examinerswhich found that 12vehicles h<strong>ad</strong> devices fittedcapable of interruptingsignals to the tachographrecording equipment.Subsequent analysis of thecompany’s records revealedthat between October 2009and November 2009 over40,000 kilometres h<strong>ad</strong> notbeen properly accounted for.The £8,700 fine was m<strong>ad</strong>e upof £150 fines for each of 10specimen counts of making afalse entry, £200 for each of6 counts of failing to producetachograph records and £500on each of 12 counts o<strong>fp</strong>roducing, supplying and /or installing a device designedto interfere with the properoperation of tachographrecording equipment. Eightdrivers employed by thecompany at the time of theinvestigation h<strong>ad</strong> been dealtwith by an earlier court andreceived combined finestotalling £2,900 for tachographand driver’s hour’s offencesMultiple OffencesA County Londonderryoperator was convictedat Strabane MagistratesCourt and fined £550 plus£19 court costs after aMAN 2 axle goods vehiclewas stopped by DVAVehicle Examiners in thevicinity of Londonderry.The following defects noted:worn nearside front tyre,nearside steering kingpin andforemost draglink excessivelyworn, missing offside rearview mirror, cracked nearsiderear mirror, defective offsidelights, insecure lifting ram,defective indicators, defectivewindscreen wipers, insecureexhaust and nearside rear lights.The driver was unable toproduce tachograph chartsand indicated that he was notusing one. He was cautionedand when asked if he wouldlike to comment he replied“No, that’s the first time she’sbeen out of Omagh in sixweeks, just short journeys”.Failed to KeepProper RecordsA County Tyrone operatorwas convicted at LarneMagistrates Court and fineda total of £2,500 plus £22court costs and in <strong>ad</strong>ditionwas disqualified fromdriving for nine months.The prosecution was the resultof a 2 axle Scania articulatedgoods vehicle being stopped byDVA Vehicle Examiners in thevicinity of Larne. It was foundthat the tachograph calibrationplaque did not correlate to thevehicle in question, the driverh<strong>ad</strong> failed to keep properrecords of his driving, and h<strong>ad</strong>failed to return tachographrecords after 42 days.Analysis of 30 tachogrpahcharts carried by the driverrevealed 15 fail to keeprecord offences, 4 fail touse offences, 2 centerfieldoffences, 1 false record and 8missing tachograph charts.At a later date the operator wasinterviewed and was cautionedfor failure to ensure thereturn of tachograph recordsincluding failure to carry outregular checks to ensure theprovisions of the regulationswere complied with. It alsotranspired that the operatordid not have the appropriateinsurance cover for the vehicle.Bulk Tipper wasOverlo<strong>ad</strong>edA County Armagh driverwas convicted at LisburnMagistrates Court andfined a total of £600 plus£19 court costs as theresult of DVA Enforcementofficers observing a 3 axleScania articulated vehiclein combination with a 3axle bulk tipper trailer inthe vicinity of Lisburn.The vehicle was subsequentlydirected to the Department’sdynamic weighbridge facility atSprucefield where the vehiclewas found to be overweightby 5,510Kgs (12.5%) on themaximum train weight and by2,820 kgs (11.75%) on themaximum authorised weightfor the closely spaced axles.A licensing check andtachograph record check werealso undertaken which revealedthe absence of a valid ECauthorisation to transport goodsfor hire and reward, along withbreaches of drivers hours.Failed to P roduceRecordsA County Armagh driverwas convicted at LisburnMagistrates Court andfined a total of £500 plus£16 court costs after DVAVehicle Examiners stoppeda Volvo articulated heavygoods vehicle in combinationwith a bulk tipper in thevicinity of Hillsborough.The vehicle was directed tothe Department’s dynamicweighbridge at Sprucefield forinspection. During the vehicleexamination it was notedthat the manufacturer’s platedisplayed a maximum of 44,000kgs thereby indicating that thevehicle required tachographrecording equipment to befitted, calibrated and used.The driver was asked to producehis current and previoustachograph records but couldonly produce his current chart.The offences of failing toproduce records sheets andfailing to keep records forthe previous 12 months werehighlighted to the driver.TRANSPORT TRAINING SERVICES LTD15 Dundrod Ro<strong>ad</strong>, Nutts Corner, Crumlin, BT29 4SSDRIVER TRAININGLGV & PCV DriverTrainingDriver RiskAssessmentsForklift TrainingTRANSPORT COURSESCPC ManagementCoursesHaulage / PassengerTransportDriver CPC - LGV & PCVTRANSPORT OFDANGEROUS GOODSADR Initial 3,4,5 DaysADR RefresherDGSA ConsultancyDGSA TrainingTel : 028 9082 5653JAUPT APPROVED CENTRE AC00117www.transport-training.co.uk24Court Report 1pg.<strong>indd</strong> 24 19/03/2012 16:34
WINTERDEALSPARTS &SERVICINGCOMPETITIVEPRICINGON ALL TRUCK& TRAILER PARTSSCANIA • VOLVO • DAFMERCEDES • RENAULTIVECO • BPW • MERITORSAF • DAIMLER-CHRYSLERSTOCKISTS & DISTRIBUTORS OF:r n o imitedndr gee o d, ewry.www.gr n otru ks. omm il info gr n otru ks. omel ( )Granco Winter Deals <strong>fp</strong> <strong>ad</strong>.<strong>indd</strong> 1 13/03/2012 10:37
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