Magnet use driver has HGV licence suspended

A driver from Scottish borders haulier S&S International has had his HGV driving licence suspended for nine months after he admitted using a magnet to falsify tachograph records.

In a written decision following a conjoined driver conduct inquiry and public inquiry in December, traffic commissioner (TC) for Scotland Joan Aitken said Thomas Scott, who was also the transport manager at the Jedburgh-based business, had "crossed the line into unlawfulness.”

S&S International - authorised to run one vehicle and one trailer - is run by Scott's partner Shirley Scott. In June 2010 a truck driven by Thomas Scott was stopped by a VOSA traffic examiner.

When the examiner downloaded information from the tachograph unit, it showed a discrepancy between the recording equipment and the vehicle’s odometer in the mileage given.

Scott had used a magnet to interfere with the proper recording of his driving and rest.

He was subsequently convicted at Kings Lynn magistrates court in September 2010 of recording data which he knew to be false.

The court handed him a discharge, suspended for 12 months.

Aitken also ruled that Thomas Scott had lost his repute as a transport manager and gave Shirley Scott a warning in relation to drivers’ hours and tachographs.

Shirley Scott was given three months to nominate a satisfactory transport manager.