A driver who falsified tachograph records and in one instance drove nearly twice the permitted hours, was ordered to pay £825 in fines and costs by Harlow Magistrates. Ian Stevens of Luton pleaded guilty to seven offences of falsification, being fined a total of £475 and ordered to pay £350 towards the costs of the prosecution. Prosecuting for Vosa, Jacqueline Devonish said that Stevens was employed by Danjak as an HGV driver.
An examination of Stevens' tachograph records by traffic examiner Martin Faulkner had identified that the charts had been removed from the equipment during the driving time and not at the end of the daily driving time as required by law. He had on at least one occasion driven for up to 18.5 hours when daily driving should not exceed nine or 10 hours a day. The charts had also revealed missing mileage of between four kilometres and 25 kilometres a day. The offences had all occurred during a 12 day period last July.
In mitigation Stevens told the court that he had been stopped by Vosa many times and nothing had been found wrong. His boss had "read him the riot act" regarding the current charge.Fining Stevens, the magistrates said that the falsification of tachograph charts was a serious offence to commit in a 44 tonne lorry. They could not tell how long Stevens had been driving on any day. The most serious offences go before the Crown court. The courts regard such offences as serious as they hide drivers' hours offences and can be dealt with either in the magistrates court or, for the worst offenders, by the Crown Court.
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