It will cost him nothing to plead guilty to a court and give his mitigating statement. He may pay less than the £200 fixed penalty, he would probably not even have to attend the court just a written statement submitted to the court.
Tallyman said
Out of interest, is £200 a standard ‘fixed penalty’?
For this offence, yes it is. The maximum fine in court is up to £ 5000, but the usual first offence, guilty plea is in the order of £ 200, hence the reason that the fixed penalty is at that level.
Tallyman also said
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.
Of course the agency and the operator will try and shed the blame. In reality the agency can, however, the operator is obliged to provide the charts.
Mike-C said
It will cost him nothing to plead guilty to a court and give his mitigating statement. He may pay less than the £200 fixed penalty, he would probably not even have to attend the court just a written statement submitted to the court.
You can only go to court to plead ‘not guilty,’ in cases where a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued. At which point there will be a trial. If found guilty then the court will take into consideration that you were offered the opportunity to deal with the matter by way of a FPN and the fine is most likely to be higher plus costs etc. If found ‘not guilty’ then you’re home and laughing, whilst you may claim your legal costs back, you are not able to claim for lost time etc.
tallyman:
Out of interest, is £200 a standard ‘fixed penalty’?
Yes the fixed penalty for failing to use a tachograph chart/card is £200, the VOSA examiner does have the right to use his discretion and give him a verbal warning in certain circumstances but obviously felt that the FP was justified in this case.
Give the circumstances it does seem a bit harsh and a verbal warning may have been more just but I guess it’s up-to the individual VOSA examiner.
Offence.
4-25 FAIL TO USE A TACHOGRAPH RECORD SHEET OR DRIVER CARD £200 FP.
geebee45:
Mike-C saidIt will cost him nothing to plead guilty to a court and give his mitigating statement. He may pay less than the £200 fixed penalty, he would probably not even have to attend the court just a written statement submitted to the court.
You can only go to court to plead ‘not guilty,’ in cases where a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued. At which point there will be a trial. If found guilty then the court will take into consideration that you were offered the opportunity to deal with the matter by way of a FPN and the fine is most likely to be higher plus costs etc. If found ‘not guilty’ then you’re home and laughing, whilst you may claim your legal costs back, you are not able to claim for lost time etc.
Oh, ok. I thought there was a standard option to go to court to have your case heard. Pity there wasn’t as i’d guess the magistrates would of been a bit more understanding of the drivers situation and his attempts to rectify his situation than the inspector he got was. Now if he’d of only lied and said he couldn’t get the chart to record properly or summat in the first place , he’d of had a fighting chance in court. Does’t always pay to be honest !!!
Other than a finger wagging verbal warning, or completely ignoring the offence, does an Enforcement Officer (in any guise) have any other option than the £200 FPN ?
a sensible enforcment officer is a rare breed nowadays
geebee45:
Tallyman saidOut of interest, is £200 a standard ‘fixed penalty’?
For this offence, yes it is. The maximum fine in court is up to £ 5000, but the usual first offence, guilty plea is in the order of £ 200, hence the reason that the fixed penalty is at that level.
Tallyman also said
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.
Of course the agency and the operator will try and shed the blame. In reality the agency can, however, the operator is obliged to provide the charts.
Mike-C said
It will cost him nothing to plead guilty to a court and give his mitigating statement. He may pay less than the £200 fixed penalty, he would probably not even have to attend the court just a written statement submitted to the court.
You can only go to court to plead ‘not guilty,’ in cases where a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued. At which point there will be a trial. If found guilty then the court will take into consideration that you were offered the opportunity to deal with the matter by way of a FPN and the fine is most likely to be higher plus costs etc. If found ‘not guilty’ then you’re home and laughing, whilst you may claim your legal costs back, you are not able to claim for lost time etc.
i know in scotland if the driver wanted to contest the fpn all he needed to do was not pay the fpn and an court date is issued
tallyman:
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
can honestly say i have only ever seen VOSA at work on a weekend once when trucking out and about at weekends, and that was 7am on a sunday morning 2 years ago near the TESCO RDC at crick. where was he pulled out sheer interest 
limeyphil:
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.
He’s not within the law, he drove without a tacho. Last time I checked thats illegal. Also isn’t it a legal requirement to have enough blank cards?
His best bet when doing the manual entry would be to have written that he put it in upside down by mistake, that usually works.
Sorry I should have read the rest of the topic before posting my comment, I see it’s been comprehensively answered.
I must say though, limeyphil’s take on the law is always entertaining!
No excuses. Should’ve carried charts with him “just in case”. As an agency driver, he should know that 99% of the time, there’s a high chance something will be missing whether it be charts, numberplate clips, 5th wheel dog clips etc etc. And every driver in haulage should know that the job never goes as planned…
Conor:
No excuses. Should’ve carried charts with him “just in case”. As an agency driver, he should know that 99% of the time, there’s a high chance something will be missing whether it be charts, numberplate clips, 5th wheel dog clips etc etc. And every driver in haulage should know that the job never goes as planned…
I’d say if you’ve left no charts for a driver, no means to secure a number plate and no dog clip for him then there is no planning going on. Hang on, thats pretty much industry standard for our job !!!
Some years back when I was doing casual driving for SOL I started at 4am. When I checked the lights the offside headlight was not working. I asked the security man if he could get me a bulb from the office. He was unable to because bulbs were kept in a locked cupboard.
I then called out the local Volvo dealer who replaced the bulb. SOL were not best pleased.
The point I am making is, if they want the job done properly then they have to make sure as many eventualities are covered. I do not intend risking my licence for the sake of a days pay.
Whilst working there, the shunter used to take the mickey about the amount of kit I used to take with me as a day driver, till one morning at about 3.30 when I returned and he was in need of a tacho disc. He never made another comment after that.
Now as a day driver I take everything but the kitchen sink (thank god for sleeper cabs)and on most days don’t need it, but I was caught out once without my overnight kit. My bedding goes with me everywhere now, just in case.
switchlogic:
I must say though, limeyphil’s take on the law is always entertaining!
bit like ROG on driver hours 