My lad started a run this morning and was expecting a digital tacho. Ended up he had an analogue one with no charts as no-one in office, so he decided to get to his first drop (about 40 miles) and managed to get a couple of blank charts. He filled in the back as a manual entry up to the point he put the chart in and then continued. Sod’s law he got pulled by VOSA & they have charged him with driving without a chart & said it will be a £200 fine, no points but the infringement will go against the company’s O licence. He only does one day a week agency driving (university student rest of the time), & first time he’s been in this situation since he started driving 3 years ago. Is he best to pay up or are there any grounds he can go to court on?
i cant see a defence against that. i stopped carrying paper charts ages ago but i have had the occasional analogue truck from the co op so i always ask them for charts. although the company should hold blank charts since they run vehicles fitted with them, it still comes down to the driver to make sure he/she is using one correctly. he is guilty of the offence, the reasons for which are merely mitigating circumstances which i suspect would not be accepted. he should have refused to drive until he was given 2 blank charts
Did he get a pull from VOSA before or after he did the manual entry? - I ask because…
He would have been better to say that he could not recall which way he put the chart in so opened it up to check it which is why X amount of time has been put onto it manually.
Or
I could not recall inserting a chart so I stopped and checked - on finding that I had fogotten, I then did a manual entry for what I had done already and then carried on with chart inserted as normal.
I’ve done that before and had no probs.
He’s still out on the run at the moment so haven’t got the full story. The company just leave the keys with the gatehouse at weekends so no access to anything & no contact number apart from his agency, so he thought he’d chance it. He knows there’s no excuse as far as he’s concerned, but he wondered if the company held some responsibility for providing charts. Personally I’ve told him probably best to pay up as court liable to cost him more in the long run. Unfortunately he’s a rubbish liar so he just told them the truth…
He got pulled after the manual entry.
tricky one. he should have refused to drive the truck without a chart and the company failed to provide them. on the other hand, work is rare at this time of year so agency drivers would have to be a little more flexible than would normally be the case although still not to that extent. a blown bulb is one thing but willingly running without a tacho is a serious error of judgement and hopefully the experience will make sure it doesnt happen again.
i cant see the company reimbursing the fine so i would park up and make sure i get a 15 hour shift out of them 
He usually gets 15 hours from this lot without being held up by VOSA - that’s the only reason he does it: (a) for the money & (b) nobody else wants to do it. I think he will have learnt his lesson but, as you say, if he’d refused to do it then you can bet he wouldn’t have got a call for next week - the joy of agency work (& why I’ve given up driving).
Thanks for replies anyway.
tallyman:
the joy of agency work (& why I’ve given up driving).
ditto. i start a new job on 25th january IF it hasnt changed again 
He should just pay up and learn from it in my opinion, whilst the company should supply charts it was his decision to drive without using the tachograph and therefore the responsibility for the offence was solely his.
VOSA could have been more lenient and given him a verbal warning especially as it’s a first offence and manual entries had been made, but having said that 40 miles is quite a way to go without using a tachograph so perhaps that was the reason for the fixed penalty being issued.
VOSA will probably look further into the companies activities but I imagine that if they have a reasonably clean record they will receive no more than advise about future procedures.
Even though I drive a vehicle fitted with a digital tachograph I still carry spare charts just in case and would advise your lad to do the same in future 
he is within the law.
he kept a written record. simple as that.
vosa are not the law.
i’d go to court.
his responsibility is to keep a written record, however it is his employers responsibility to supply the charts, not his.
the courts will also take into consideration his lack of experience.
it is very easy to get an acquittal.
Don’t think that I should comment on this particular case - for obvious reasons, so I’ll make a couple of general comments;
-
If you arrive for work (full-time employee or agency) and there are no tacho charts, of the approved type and speed rating, for you to use in the analogue tacho fitted to the vehicle. DO NOT drive the vehicle if its’ use falls within the scope of the EU drivers hours rules. The ‘employer’ is required to make suitable charts available for use by its’ employees in their vehicles. If you look at the contacts between the agencies and operators you will (usually) find a clause that makes the agency driver the ‘employee’ of the operator, otherwise the agency becomes the operator and would have to hold the o-licence etc, clearly that isn’t going to work.
-
If you turn up for work and the vehicle is fitted with a digital tachograph and you don’t have a driver card, DO NOT drive the vehicle if its’ use comes under EU drivers hours rules. Don’t get fobbed off with, ‘it’s OK you can use the Company Card’ or ‘just take a printout and write your name on it,’ neither will wash as excuses.
-
It’s up to the operators to supply printout paper and charts, make sure you have the appropriate one for the vehicle you’re driving before you set off. Printout paper is approximately £3 per roll, not having any paper at all will cost YOU at least 20 times that. It may cost the operator considerably more, last time I was in court the operator got £450 for no printer paper and £3000 for no charts
OK that was an exceptional case, but usually they can expect to pay around £500 and convictions will have to be reported to the TC.
Whilst the idea of telling ‘porkies’ might sound attractive, it often comes back to bite the individual concerned. All diagnostic tachos (legal requirement since 1996) have a warning light on them to inform the driver that vehicle is being moved without a chart in, or the chart is not rotating properly. Of course, you could try saying that the chart shows the ‘whole day,’ but that would be making a ‘false record,’ which is far worse in the eyes of the courts.
The whole episode could have been avoided by the operator either leaving a box of blank charts in the vehicle or at the gatehouse. I assume from the OP that the gatehouse is manned and therefore blank charts could be handed out by the gatehouse personnel. Otherwise the operator is leaving keys to their vehicles unattended, if one were to be stolen I’m sure that their insurer would be entirely unsympathetic. In my book the operator should volunteer to pay the fine due to their own incompetence.
Rant switch now set to ‘off.’
limeyphil:
he is within the law.
he kept a written record. simple as that.
vosa are not the law.
but the LAW says that deliberately driving a vehicle when you have no tacho is an offence
If he said that he did so then he is admitting to being illegal
If he was stopped AFTER driving with no tacho but had one inserted when stopped then that would depend on what he told them - see my post further up this thread - that might lead to further prosecutions IF the driver was found to be lying…
I don’t think your lad has any defence against this, but I wonder what the security staff were doing. Here you are mate, here are the keys, “sorry pal”. I cant drive that unless you have any charts. Have you the keys for ■■58■■■?
Yes. Here you go.
or
No. “well can you ring the duty manager for me, cheers”
Limeyphil said
he is within the law.
he kept a written record. simple as that.
Unfortunately Phil he is not within the Law. The transport Act 1968 requires that Recording Equipment (a Tachograph) is used correctly and in compliance with Articles 13 thru 15 of Council Regulation (EEC) 3821/85. By driving a vehicle without a chart in, when required, the equipment is not being ‘used correctly.’ Going back later and making a ‘written record’ of activity is not, in this type of case, sufficient.
Limeyphil also said
vosa are not the law
Couldn’t agree more, but they are one of the authorities allowed to bring prosecutions.
and finally;
his responsibility is to keep a written record
No, his responsibility is to use the Recording Equipment correctly, keeping a written record is not using the equipment correctly.
ROG:
limeyphil:
he is within the law.
he kept a written record. simple as that.
vosa are not the law.but the LAW says that deliberately driving a vehicle when you have no tacho is an offence
If he said that he did so then he is admitting to being illegalIf he was stopped AFTER driving with no tacho but had one inserted when stopped then that would depend on what he told them - see my post further up this thread - that might lead to further prosecutions IF the driver was found to be lying…
it quite clearly states that the driver should make a written record.
if you don’t use a tachograph, then you commit an offence, however if you keep a written record, then that will supersede the offence of not using a tachograph.
the cps can only persue a charge of failing to use a tachograph IF he also failed to keep a written record.
what do you do if your tacho chart gets chewed up in the head? you make a manual one.
limeyphil:
it quite clearly states that the driver should make a written record.
and what does the law say that the written record shall be on?
geebee45:
Limeyphil saidhe is within the law.
he kept a written record. simple as that.Unfortunately Phil he is not within the Law. The transport Act 1968 requires that Recording Equipment (a Tachograph) is used correctly and in compliance with Articles 13 thru 15 of Council Regulation (EEC) 3821/85. By driving a vehicle without a chart in, when required, the equipment is not being ‘used correctly.’ Going back later and making a ‘written record’ of activity is not, in this type of case, sufficient.
Limeyphil also said
vosa are not the law
Couldn’t agree more, but they are one of the authorities allowed to bring prosecutions.
and finally;
his responsibility is to keep a written record
No, his responsibility is to use the Recording Equipment correctly, keeping a written record is not using the equipment correctly.
that act didn’t refer to hgv’s 
ROG:
limeyphil:
it quite clearly states that the driver should make a written record.and what does the law say that the written record shall be on?
it dosn’t. however it is advisable to use the reverse side of a tacho chart according to the DfT and vosa.
it is one of the questions on the hgv theory test.
geebee45:
Don’t think that I should comment on this particular case - for obvious reasons, so I’ll make a couple of general comments;
If you arrive for work (full-time employee or agency) and there are no tacho charts, of the approved type and speed rating, for you to use in the analogue tacho fitted to the vehicle. DO NOT drive the vehicle if its’ use falls within the scope of the EU drivers hours rules. The ‘employer’ is required to make suitable charts available for use by its’ employees in their vehicles. If you look at the contacts between the agencies and operators you will (usually) find a clause that makes the agency driver the ‘employee’ of the operator, otherwise the agency becomes the operator and would have to hold the o-licence etc, clearly that isn’t going to work.
If you turn up for work and the vehicle is fitted with a digital tachograph and you don’t have a driver card, DO NOT drive the vehicle if its’ use comes under EU drivers hours rules. Don’t get fobbed off with, ‘it’s OK you can use the Company Card’ or ‘just take a printout and write your name on it,’ neither will wash as excuses.
It’s up to the operators to supply printout paper and charts, make sure you have the appropriate one for the vehicle you’re driving before you set off. Printout paper is approximately £3 per roll, not having any paper at all will cost YOU at least 20 times that. It may cost the operator considerably more, last time I was in court the operator got £450 for no printer paper and £3000 for no charts
Whilst the idea of telling ‘porkies’ might sound attractive, it often comes back to bite the individual concerned. All diagnostic tachos (legal requirement since 1996) have a warning light on them to inform the driver that vehicle is being moved without a chart in, or the chart is not rotating properly. Of course, you could try saying that the chart shows the ‘whole day,’ but that would be making a ‘false record,’ which is far worse in the eyes of the courts.
The whole episode could have been avoided by the operator either leaving a box of blank charts in the vehicle or at the gatehouse. I assume from the OP that the gatehouse is manned and therefore blank charts could be handed out by the gatehouse personnel. Otherwise the operator is leaving keys to their vehicles unattended, if one were to be stolen I’m sure that their insurer would be entirely unsympathetic. In my book the operator should volunteer to pay the fine due to their own incompetence.
Rant switch now set to ‘off.’
Still can’t argue it’s a bit hard on the lad?
Another case of someone trying to get the job done the best he can (He did make a manual entry) and being kicked in the teeth for it.
You would think that, just to keep relations civil between drivers and enforcers he could have been let off with a warning, or a smaller fine. Which will probably be impossible, under the fixed penalty scheme, I know.
Limephil said
that act didn’t refer to hgv’s
It doesn’t need to think you might want to read Scn 95.2 of the Transport Act it says;
(2) This Part of this Act applies to :-
(a) passenger vehicles, that is to say :-
(i) public service vehicles; and
(ii) motor vehicles (other than public service vehicles) constructed or adapted to carry more than twelve passengers;
(b) goods vehicles, that is to say :-
(i) heavy locomotives, light locomotives, motor tractors and any motor vehicle so constructed that a trailer may by partial superimposition be attached to the vehicle in such a manner as to cause a substantial part of the weight of the trailer to be borne by the vehicle; and
(ii) motor vehicles (except those mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection) constructed or adapted to carry goods other than the effects of passengers.
(c) vehicles not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection which–
(i) are vehicles within the meaning given by Article 4 of the Community Drivers’
Hours Regulation; and
(ii) are not referred to in Article 3 of that Regulation.
Granted it doesn’t specifically use the term HGV, it doesn’t need to because they are ‘goods vehicles.’
Please don’t confuse the requirement to make written records in an Individual Control Book - usually called a Log Book, which satisfies the record keeping requirements for drivers working under the UK Domestic Hours Code, with the requirements for driving under the EU or AETR regulations.
There are occasions when ‘manual records’ may be made under EU and AETR regulations, they are few and under very specific circumstances.
Out of interest, is £200 a standard ‘fixed penalty’?
The gatehouse scenario is a bit wierd, the company concerned is only one of half a dozen companies on the site and the gatehouse is nothing to do with them directly, purely puts the barriers up & down. The managers regularly leave the keys for runs (the trucks are ready loaded before drivers get there so no way can they choose another one), Alec’s been going there regularly so the gatehouse know him, don’t know what they do if it’s a ‘new’ driver.
I know he used to carry spare tachos with him but he’s been on a digicard for months now so probably got out of the habit - the company rents its vehicles so I’m guessing it was an older one as a one-off. It does seem pretty tough on him & I wouldn’t be too surprised if the company & the agency go & dump the onus on him, whether it’s fair or not. I still won’t recommend him going to court on this & risk any further punishment.
Thanks for all comments though.