Got stopped at a roadside check the other day 
Vehicle was ok but when he asked for last weeks charts he pointed out that I had driven for nearly five hours without a break!! (as soon as he said it I realised what I had done, I had been sent for a load with one vehicle but had to go back to the yard to change vehicles as the load was to big for the origional vehicle, this trip took about 20 minutes and I now realise I had not included this time 
) anyway he siezed the tacho and said he would pass it on to the trafffic office near us, this was a fortnight ago and I havent heard anything yet. How long does it take? and what sort of crap am I in?
Welcome to TruckNetUK,Lostagain.
In the circumstances you have described,20 to 30 minutes over the four and a half hours driving is an offence,but not a particularly serious one in the greater scheme of things, particularly if you and your boss can show the authorities when they check your previous tacho charts that this truly was a first time/one -off error of judgement.(It was,- wasn’t it ? 
)
Like all Government departments, the VOSA staff have certain ‘targets’ to fill, to justify their jobs and resources (like the shiny new motors that we,the mugs, er…sorry - Transport operators/Tax payers provide for them.)
A £200 fine (my estimate only - I may be wrong 
) would do them nicely,thanks, as ‘your’ contribution for 2004.You won’t get points on your licence or anything like that, but your name, and that of the operator of the truck involved (in this case your boss ) will have all details of this ‘pull’, and the outcome , kept on file for a certain amount of time to ensure you have learnt your lesson, taken your punishment , and don’t turn into a serial offender !
Click onto this link to this previous posting:
trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. … ght=#28767
The offence you have admitted to is nothing like as serious as the one outlined by TruckNet member placidcasual on that post, of course, but read the early replies by DaveyDriver for some useful guidance.Consider buying one of Daveys’ Driver’s Hour Guard timers,and tell the nice people at VOSA that you have done, ( always worth a try ) when they contact you and your boss again, perhaps in a few more weeks, also mentioning the particular circumstances on that day,i.e. unpreplanned vehicle changeover at short notice.
I would think the worst crap you will have to take will be the calls from certain self - righteus members on these forums who will demand that you be castrated, crucified and hung, drawn & quartered (but not necessarily in that order !) 
Please don’t let that put you off being a valued new member of TruckNetUK -
once again, Welcome 
I would think the worst crap you will have to take will be the calls from certain self - righteus members on these forums who will demand that you be castrated, crucified and hung, drawn & quartered (but not necessarily in that order !)
Please don’t let that put you off being a valued new member of TruckNetUK -
once again, Welcome
Thats not good enough!
The reason this countrys weather is so bad is because of people like you flouting the law. There are starving people in the world because of you. Traffic holds ups and cruelty to animals are the outcome of you driving over your hours.
Probably a £40 fine. let us know what you get
He is the spawn of Beelzebub, 
hangings to good for him! 
Yep! This is a very serious matter.
I think if it’s a one off genuine mistake then hopefully it won’t be to bad. You seem to have some mitigating circumstances, which lead to some confusion over how long you had been driving.
do we still hang, draw and quarter people in this country
seriously if its a one off for you and the firm, you’ll get a slapped wrist
welcome to trucknet lostagain,if they are going to punish you then just accept it and put it down to lack of experiance.don’t get to strung up about it.just remember next time you change vehicles.i won’t like to comment on what fine you would get,please let us know how you get on and i hope you learn from your mistakes.good luck.
Stop worrying the poor guy. It seems a genuine mistake and if he goes to court which he should do and explains the whole situaltion he will probable get a warning and a slapped hand
Hello LostAgain and welcome to TruckNet.
What you describe is an offence. It is likely that your previous behaviour will now be examined closely.
If you only make occasional breaches of the law, then it is unlikely that you will be charged with an offence.
If you habitually break the law, then you are in serious trouble and it might be time to find another occupation.
Vince
I seem to remember from my days back there that no official, police or MOt have the right to confiscate your chart, they must make a copy and return it to you because otherwise you will be in contravention of yet another law by not having all of your records with you.
Go to court and fight tooth and nail. 
Pat Hasler:
I seem to remember from my days back there that no official, police or MOt have the right to confiscate your chart,
Pat, I think you’ll find you’re wrong on that one.
The right to seize ‘Evidence’ has existed in English Law (in one form or another) for as long as our legal system has existed and possibly dates back to the Magna Carta or beyond.
Which is why driver’s are expected to carry spare charts.
Reading books on Legal history, it is fascinating to realize that 3 or 4 centuries ago, if a jury failed to reach a verdict, they were bundled into a cart and had to follow the Judge to his next Assize Court.
What a pity it is not done nowadays. It would certainly have speeded up the decision in the O.J. Simpson trial.
Seizing evidence, maybe…but when the law states that you’ve got to carry your current weeks’, and the last chart of the previous week, charts then when they remove them you end up breaking the law. Do they give you a receipt? Or do you just advise them to go forth and multiply, they can get the chart from the O licence holder in 21 days - I know which one I would go for.
Don’t forget, it’s in minor details that the officials often get it wrong or don’t have a clue
Jules
The official is required to either
(a) Give you a receipt
or
(b) Sign a spare chart with their name and telephone number as a receipt.
As others have said, this is one of the reasons why you’re expected to carry some spare charts.
Would you believe it!! I received my summons today for that infamous event on 1st May. I’m due to appear on 10th August at Haverfordwest Courts. Three charges of which I’m guilty of, I’m not even going to appear. The admission of guilt will be in the post in the morning. There was no excuse for what I did.
So far I have not heard anything from the traffic bods… How long do they take to decide if they are going to prosecute or not.
MrFlibble:
The official is required to either(a) Give you a receipt
or
(b) Sign a spare chart with their name and telephone number as a receipt.
As others have said, this is one of the reasons why you’re expected to carry some spare charts.
Spot on. Remembering as a newbie who only took the theory test a couple of months ago (35/35), that’s pretty much the answer in the book.
Lostagain:
So far I have not heard anything from the traffic bods… How long do they take to decide if they are going to prosecute or not.
For traffic offences, I believe it is 6 months but don’t know if hours offences are the same.
placidcasual:
I’m due to appear on 10th August at Haverfordwest Courts.
How did you come on then Placid?
Whooopss it’s okay mate I found it trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. … &start=150
Please I was £100 and odd quid over on my guestimate
Placid was fined davey!
about £350 in total I think!
A usefull pnemonic to remember is SARGE-CALD
The police (and I assume VOSA chaps where road traffic act offences are being investigated) have the right to Seize Anything (which they have) Reasonable Grounds (to consider as) Evidence (of an offence to prevent it’s) Concealment, Alteration, Loss or Destruction.