Due to inexperience /stupidity/ being a numpty over the last few weeks I have had 4 infringements 2 were wtd (breaks not taken in the right place) and two were tacho infringements. When I was called into the office the manager sat me down and explained everything that I had done wrong and suggested ways to avoid it in future. Then got me to sign a bit of paper that said I could be fined 200 quid with an explanation of what happened on it. I asked him if I would now be fined and he said no that was the end of the matter.
Question is is it the end of the matter or can I /will I be fined.
way it usually works you get an infringement your called in for a chat.
company explains what you did wrong .
you explain the reason why.
they tell you not to do it again plan better .
have a mark on your record.
if how ever you keep getting infringements and called in on a regular basis.
they have to issue you a written warning and.
if it still continues you can face the sack.
but they cant just fine you.
but vosa could if your ever stopped
Only the DVSA have the power to fine you on tacho infringements. They might even look the other way if there is nothing wrong with the vehicle and it shows you haven’t had any infringements since and the load is properly secure etc. Oh and don’t get pulled over by the police for doing something really silly as they can ask a DSA roadside examiner to attend the scene and go through your tacho that way.
Is the company pretty big? If so, they should have someone who can talk you through tacho operation and where you’re going wrong. As far as I know, most companies will only give you 2 chances/sit downs to be told how to fix it. If you keep getting infringements after, especially for the same things, your days could be numbered there.
If you clock up tons of infringements, a new Tacho card is £19 and a future employer would be non the wiser
edd1974:
as far as im aware a company cant fine you.
way it usually works you get an infringement your called in for a chat.
company explains what you did wrong .
you explain the reason why.
they tell you not to do it again plan better .
have a mark on your record.
if how ever you keep getting infringements and called in on a regular basis.
they have to issue you a written warning and.
if it still continues you can face the sack.
but they cant just fine you.
but vosa could if your ever stopped
that’s the question now I have signed this magic bit of paper can vosa still fine me. the manager said not and I assume not if its past 28 days
A large amount. Has the explantion of where you went wrong made any sense?
There’s little point in TM’s telling you what you need to improve on if you’re missing something fundamental and go and get another four next week.
It might not seem it coop but I’m on your side. You need to focus or, as already mentioned too many infringments and they might show you the door. Which is unfair but they have a business to run and an O licence to protect.
A large amount. Has the explantion of where you went wrong made any sense?
There’s little point in TM’s telling you what you need to improve on if you’re missing something fundamental and go and get another four next week.
It might not seem it coop but I’m on your side. You need to focus or, as already mentioned too many infringments and they might show you the door. Which is unfair but they have a business to run and an O licence to protect.
yes the explanation made sense and a lot of it was to do with inexperience of driving and the job. for example I might have 1.5 hours drive time left but im in wood lane and next drop is Dartford. Dumb dumb here thought an hour and a half was plenty of time to get to Dartford then find its not enough and have no where to stop. or I thought well I have 40 mins to drop a pallet before I need a wtd break no need to put it on break yet and then struggle with something.
The other mistake I seemed to be making was thinking that I had to have 15 min after 4.5 hours work and then another 15 between 6 and 9 hours work for wtd. rather than 30 min once I have done 6 hours work. so I was having a 15 before 4.5 hours and then not having my 30 (driving break) till I had done 4 hours driving. (more then 7 hours working some times).
The system that I try and use now (and so far in the last couple of days has worked) is do 4-5 hours other work or somewhere around there depending on drops/ traffic and then have a 30 min to cover the wtd. then have another 30 min to cover my 45 min driving break further on down the road. theory being that if I do more than 9 hours work the second 30 min break covers the wtd extra break as well.
Should for any reason DVSA do a spot check at your base, the paper you sign is acknowledgement of your infringements which indicates that the Company has made you or your colleagues aware of your faults and have taken steps to eradicate.
cooper1203:
Due to inexperience /stupidity/ being a numpty over the last few weeks I have had 4 infringements 2 were wtd (breaks not taken in the right place) and two were tacho infringements. When I was called into the office the manager sat me down and explained everything that I had done wrong and suggested ways to avoid it in future. Then got me to sign a bit of paper that said I could be fined 200 quid with an explanation of what happened on it. I asked him if I would now be fined and he said no that was the end of the matter.
Question is is it the end of the matter or can I /will I be fined.
I’m guessing the infringement notice said about the possible fines from the DVSA not company fines.
You will not get fined for the WTD infringements but if you get stopped by the DVSA within 28 days of the offences you could get fined for the tachograph infringements, though unless they’re serious or repetitive offences you probably would get nothing more than advice to be more careful in future.
As has been said, the infringement notice you signed was just what the company need to do to fulfil their obligations to the DVSA to show that they’re keeping drivers aware of anything they do wrong, in other words an arse covering exercise.
edd1974:
as far as im aware a company cant fine you.
way it usually works you get an infringement your called in for a chat.
company explains what you did wrong .
you explain the reason why.
they tell you not to do it again plan better .
have a mark on your record.
if how ever you keep getting infringements and called in on a regular basis.
they have to issue you a written warning and.
if it still continues you can face the sack.
but they cant just fine you.
but vosa could if your ever stopped
that’s the question now I have signed this magic bit of paper can vosa still fine me. the manager said not and I assume not if its past 28 days
A roadside check, by officials, should only look at 28 days.
Your records are held by the company for (I think) 12months. They can be inspected by DVSA, police, etc at any time.
If the company, or you are consistently breaking laws then you could be prosecuted for all of the offences found. *But dont worry*! Generally it is only blatant ■■■■ takers that get this treatment, not a newbie making an error and correcting it. The manger getting you to sign anything doesnt affect the (very slim) chances of you getting prosecuted, It does tend to cover his ■■■ however in that he is showing he is trying to correct your errors, and run a clean company.
To answer your question, yes you could be fined, but you probably won’t given what you’ve said.
By signing the infringement at work just means you’re signing to say they’ve brought it to your attention like they have too, and explain it.
Whenever you get stopped by DVSA, they can fine you for infringements on that current day and the previous 28 days. On the current day you’ll normally get 15 mins grace if you’re over. Once you’ve had a rest period it becomes historical and you’d have to be more than 2 hours over on a driving time or 2 hours under on a rest period, to get fined unless you had 4 lesser infringements in that 28 days. So they aren’t after people that make odd mistakes.
This is the wtd
There’s 2 parts to the wtd breaks.
The 6 hour rule
you can’t work more than 6 hours at any point without a 15 min break, a break of 15 or more allows you to work upto another 6 hours before needing another 15 min break. This works the same as driving 4.5 hours and a 45. (Only driving and other work count as working time)
The total break
This is dependent on the amount of working time in the shift, only driving and other work count as working time for the wtd.
0-6 hours of working time = 0 break required
Over 6 but not over 9 = 30 mins of break/s
Over 9 = 45 mins of break/s required.
A shift can only be have 1 of the 3 apply, so ignore the other 2
Breaks can be taken anywhere in the shift to count towards the total required, except the very beginning or end of the shift, so each break must have at least 1 min of work either side of it and they must be at least 15 mins long to count.
So anyone who drives over 4.5 hours in a shift will have a 45 for that and tick the total break box for any shift, so all they’ll need to worry about is the 6 hour rule.
This is the extreme example of what is legal
Work 6
Break 15
Work 6
Break 15
Work 2:14
Break 15
Work 1 min
