Wales and West Midlands traffic commissioner Nick Jones has warned drivers, transport managers and operators that the use of magnets will lead to disqualifications and revocations.
The warning follows the revocation of the O-licence held by Welsh haulier PD Rees & Sons; the disqualification of transport manager Philip Rees, alongside the removal of his repute and professional competence. Rees also had his driving licence revoked, and was disqualified from applying for a new licence for 12 months.
Rees admitted to having used a magnet to falsify digital tachograph records and evade drivers’ hours rules.
In regards to the decision Jones said: “It would send entirely the wrong message to the wilful and unscrupulous driver that it will not materially affect his or her livelihood to commit offences and to use a magnet.”
At a public inquiry (PI) in May TC Jones heard that Rees admitted to using a magnet to avoid taking a rest after he was stopped by DVSA officers on the M56 in Cheshire. Checks revealed that the vehicle he was driving had been recording a rest period for the previous two hours and 22 minutes, and continued to record rest while driving on the M56 to the DVSA check site.
Rees, also director and transport manager at the firm, told the examiner he had used the magnet because he had nowhere to park, and that he was heading for a layby on the A55 after making a delivery to the A55 in Halewood, Merseyside.
TC Jones acknowledged that Rees had admitted to a single, isolated offence and did not attempt to obstruct the regulatory bodies, and that he recognised his actions were not acceptable.
However he said: “A transport manager who uses a magnet should expect to lose his repute and professional competence.”
Rees had previously been called to a PI in 2006, which resulted in a licence curtailment, and his repute and professional competence as a transport manager being severely tarnished.
Related used vehicles for sale
