A Polish driver, who used a device to interfere with the tachograph in his 40-tonne artic, was the third driver to be convicted from the same company when he was given a prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court.
Andrzet Golawski was given an eight-month sentence and disqualified from driving in the UK for 11 months after pleading guilty to two counts of using a false instrument under the Forgery Act. A dangerous driving charge was not pursued.
An examination of the engine compartment of Golawski’s tractor unit by DVSA officers revealed a device had been installed that interfered with the electronic information provided to other parts of the vehicle. There was no record of the driving hours or the usage of the vehicle.
The use of the device bypassed the speed limiter system and compromised the ABS and EBS braking systems. It also compromised the suspension balance system.
In earlier hearings Wojciech Trzeciak was given a two-month prison sentence and disqualified from driving in the UK for a year after pleading guilty to two counts of using a false instrument and one count of dangerous driving. Kamil Nowaki was given four months in prison and a six-month driving suspension after pleading guilty to two offences of using a false instrument.
A fourth driver caught up in the same investigation pleaded not guilty, with a trial date to be set in June.
By Michael Jewell
