i got an email from RT.com and had a bit of a look around and found these stories
roadtransport.com/Articles/2 … anned.html
roadtransport.com/Articles/2 … years.html
is it me or in these difficult times drivers just don’t care any more about there licences
Four drivers were disqualified from holding HGV driving licences for two years. They were Dale Bottomley, John Richardson, Andrew Tanner, and Paul Byrne.
Eighteen-month disqualifications were handed out to Michael Cherry and Hayden Wills; 12-month disqualifications to Keith Podmore, John Pickett, and James Warren. Jeffrey Wills was disqualified for 10 months, David Sprung for nine months, Paul Forster for eight months, and David Stringer for seven months.
George Richardson, Gary Norman, Alan Cross, David Healey and Ian Gates were each disqualified for six months. The licences held by George Felton and Richard Malley were suspended for three months and the licence held by Luke Richardson for four weeks.
That’s a lot of disqualifications and suspensions 
Do those that had the disqualifications have to do a LGV retest 
ROG:
Do those that had the disqualifications have to do a LGV retest
only one Rog
the TC directed that he retake his driving test at the end of the disqualification period, including initial CPC training and theory test.
All though no one on here would ever run bent, there is still a huge amount of truckers still running bent these days out there on the road.
Even with enforcement, a lot of people get away with it, get lucky its only when there is a full scale investigation do they get caught.
Some of the worst offenders i know go into a VOSA checkpoint and drive out clean as a whistle.
the thing is whats the likley hood of getting your tacho checked, its years and years since ive been pulled, even like today in a rta on a main motorway there was no tacho check, no truck check, no one asked to see the defect sheet your meant to carry, no nothing ,i could have had bald tyres , no brakes , driven for the last 10 days without a break and because i hadnt drunk and had entitlement to drive hgvs alls hunky doory.
and thats why you get fiddlers , because the odds of getting stopped are minimal up to what you can gain by fiddling
What these reports don’t say is why the firms got investigated in the first place. I believe that most investigations are triggered by a disgruntled driver (more likely ex driver) writing to the LA with details of the fiddles.
I personally know of two such cases - one was started off by a driver who was sacked (he believed unjustly) for pilfering, and the other by an agency driver who had some starnge convoluted grievance. In both cases they phoned the LA and were told to put it in writing. Once they did that and sent copies of tachos and time sheets, that was it; dozens of drivers fined and suspended and the firms fined large amounts.
delboytwo:
i got an email from RT.com and had a bit of a look around and found these storiesroadtransport.com/Articles/2 … anned.html
roadtransport.com/Articles/2 … years.html
is it me or in these difficult times drivers just don’t care any more about there licences
In the case of Armets its suprising no one else was brought to task. I like the way it says the drivers where under pressure from customers 
I’ve never dealt with a customer first hand as regards times in my life .They still have the same bloke giving the work out and have just employed a load of new drivers.
now called seaforth haulage arent they mike?
mark h:
now called seaforth haulage arent they mike?
I’ll tell ya tommorrow, i know someone who worked there before and has just gone back
Thats obviously why they are asking for the drivers right now 
Mike-C:
mark h:
now called seaforth haulage arent they mike?I’ll tell ya tommorrow, i know someone who worked there before and has just gone back
yer no worries, who got the chop last week from your place, anybody i know?
I used to know Tony M and the Lucys. They were decent enough if you behaved, and they both pulled my ■■■■ out of the fire once or twice, so I am sorry that Tony has been given a hiding like this. If they have gone after him then ART are probably next on their list.
As for pressure from customers, I dealt with them on numerous occasions- all the time really- and know full well that they want the product on site for, say, 8pm, but won’t do more than sample it then and you are lucky to be tipping by 1am. So the tank world is a bit like it, really. If you are on the chocolate tankers then it can be a really slow job and would easily take 6 or 7 hours to pump, so you can’t do a full days driving and tip.
The nature of the beast and he has been hammered for it.
bobthedog:
I used to know Tony M and the Lucys. They were decent enough if you behaved, and they both pulled my ■■■■ out of the fire once or twice, so I am sorry that Tony has been given a hiding like this. If they have gone after him then ART are probably next on their list.As for pressure from customers, I dealt with them on numerous occasions- all the time really- and know full well that they want the product on site for, say, 8pm, but won’t do more than sample it then and you are lucky to be tipping by 1am. So the tank world is a bit like it, really. If you are on the chocolate tankers then it can be a really slow job and would easily take 6 or 7 hours to pump, so you can’t do a full days driving and tip.
The nature of the beast and he has been hammered for it.
u say ART, without mentioning names, do u mean the firm off millers bridge in bootle on brasenose road?
That’s the one. Tony worked there for years. Learned his trade there. After a clash, I think with Mark, he moved on.
Thing is, they were actually fairly well behaved, but they are realistic. I was just as realistic, but less well behaved.
I will probably get lambasted for defending them, but these are stable companies. They have been around for a long time, and they have survived all sorts of troubles in the past. A lot of it is down to wit and cool running, but it is also down to their drivers who are prepared to work hard to keep things going. Knowing the guys as I did, they looked after their guys well enough, and I find it hard to see that they would have made their drivers push it too hard. Now, like Thorburns, the commisioner has put them in a situation that will take all the wit they can muster to survive. In present climes, I think they will be lucky to do so.
I know there is nobody on this forum would ever dream of breaking a rule, so I know there are people who will say it is wrong… end of. I know people will say I am wrong, but I have been in this gig for many many years, and there is not one firm I have worked with that does not, or did not, stretch things here and there. This includes a major supermarket!
So well done, TC. You have put a bunch of decent blokes, damned good workers, on the dole, and a firm with history and stability in a dangerous position.
No wonder I left!!
Once they have done the drivers with the TC now go after the company for allowing it and try to pull the licence?
Its a sad fact that these drivers have needed to fiddle their tacho charts, but I dare say it wasn’t for greed but more to keep their jobs and their employer afloat.
How many BANKERS or MPs have you heard about who have been banned for 2 years from employment for fiddling expences?
“Ghost tachos”,put the mechanics name on the card when you get back to the yard,all very well,untill you wipe out a familly,with a card with no name on it,claiming i forgot to fill it out.Due to fatigue.There are many reputable and large european companies that go over 90 hours driving per fortnight,in case a rival company would bid for a job,and take it on.
bobthedog:
That’s the one. Tony worked there for years. Learned his trade there. After a clash, I think with Mark, he moved on.Thing is, they were actually fairly well behaved, but they are realistic. I was just as realistic, but less well behaved.
I will probably get lambasted for defending them, but these are stable companies. They have been around for a long time, and they have survived all sorts of troubles in the past. A lot of it is down to wit and cool running, but it is also down to their drivers who are prepared to work hard to keep things going. Knowing the guys as I did, they looked after their guys well enough, and I find it hard to see that they would have made their drivers push it too hard. Now, like Thorburns, the commisioner has put them in a situation that will take all the wit they can muster to survive. In present climes, I think they will be lucky to do so.
I know there is nobody on this forum would ever dream of breaking a rule, so I know there are people who will say it is wrong… end of. I know people will say I am wrong, but I have been in this gig for many many years, and there is not one firm I have worked with that does not, or did not, stretch things here and there. This includes a major supermarket!
So well done, TC. You have put a bunch of decent blokes, damned good workers, on the dole, and a firm with history and stability in a dangerous position.
No wonder I left!!
ART had an advertisement 4 drivers a while back i tried my luck with mark, (big fella big curly hair? ) wouldnt take me on due to age (22) as the firm i was working 4 did stretch their luck regarding rules etc etc, like if you was running out of time close to home, you could run back and they would turn a blind eye an that, as u say you would b surprised what companies do stretch things here an there !!
bending the rules has its upside an downside as everybody knows
i av ran bent in the past and been lucky, its not right an bright but am sure most people on here have regardless of what they say !
I think in someways its to black and white these days in terms of enforcement.
Think the legislation is far to strict, in an industry where you really need a bit of flexability, because of the amount of traffic on the road and the delays at RDC’s.
There is a huge difference between going over your hours a bit to get the job done and get back home because of getting held up, compared to setting out in the morning knowing fine well you are going to be running bent. But in terms of the law there doesent really seem to be.
Its ok saying should be 100% legal all the time, but when it comes down to it especially for smaller companies the actual cost at times because of delays is not taken into account.
Think the authorities and legislators need to start having a look at things out with our control like waiting times at RDC’s and stuff.
I have to confess to being a little surprised at the general attitude here. I do not, and would not, say that breaking rules is big or clever, but I know what I used to get up to and probably was far worse than any of those that got hammered by the TC. I don’t like it, but I do accept it. I was a ‘go to’ driver for a large Dutch tanker firm, and they could throw the jobs at me that their own guys wouldn’t do. If the TC was to have gone after me, I doubt I would have been able to see my family except on visiting day…
No, it isn’t right, but it is realistic. Tankwork is a weird job with a potential for long delays in plants and then a hard punch to drop off because the product is sensitive. I had some crackers in my time, I have to say.
But the worst of all of this is that the area could well lose a fairly major player. In a time when firms are shutting because they are not making money, and drivers are losing their jobs hand over fist, the TC is gunning for some of the most stable firms and this strikes me as curious.
I know for a fact that they should be targetting some of the firms from abroad far more. Most of the offences listed will have been minor for Mr Metcalffes drivers, getting home, or getting to the drop because they can’t make it and are only 30 minutes away with a load of chocolate or a hot oil. Some of the things I have seen over the years make this really small fry.
About 10 years ago, a Portuguese driver drove virtually non stop from Valencia to dover, then he crossed and went straight to Glasgow. Almost at his drop, he slammed a car full of people, 5 I think, and killed them all. The end result was he was sent back to Portugal. Pretty much the end of the story. I know this is true as I knew the VI (as it was then) Inspector who handled it. Those are the people the TC should be after.