Tachograph Avoidance
Despite being a requirement for half a century, drivers’ hours regulations breaches continue to crop up in a large number of public inquiries. In one recent case, Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney heard the case of Onix Transcom Ltd.
Commissioner Rooney found that driver/director Edgars Cederstrems was a serial offender in relation to drivers’ hours and tachographs with countless offences over a period spanning seven years. The relationship with the EU trigger levels is one indication of the seriousness and frequency of offending, with the company being nine times over the threshold to trigger an investigation. The offending rate in August and September 2023 for the operator was 73 in 62 days, or 118%. The exception report trigger level for DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme is 4%. Whilst it might not be reasonable to expect all operators to achieve the Earned Recognition standard, it stands as a benchmark of what “good” looks like. This operator is thirty-times worse. Mr Cederstrems’ own offending rate was 30%, over 7 times the benchmark. Michael Swift, the transport manager, had very little, if any, role in the business. He was said to have been responsible for poor advice on driving before a tachograph was issued and that there was no need to record the positioning journeys as other work.
Mr. Swift had been on the licence from the start in March 2022. Mr Cederstrems had seen him three times in that period. He had got in touch with him by phone when the truck went for 6-weekly or MOT. Mr Swift just said everything was good. He had never gone through the tachograph reports with him nor provided any training. One of the issues was a lorry being left up-country and then driving back to base. Mr Cederstrems had phoned Mr Swift to ask if it was OK to leave the lorry in Northampton and to return home in the escort vehicle. Mr Swift had said that should be fine. He had not said that the journey needed to be recorded as other work. Mr. Swift had also been called into PI twice this July with different operators.
During the DVSA investigation, the other director, Anastasiya Cederstrema, decided to change transport manager to John Davey. The company acted immediately on his recommendations and he was much more hands on.
Commissioner Rooney said “…tachographs record driving time and rest periods so that, as far as it is possible for legislation to achieve, drivers do not drive tired. The drivers’ hours rules address the matter in two ways. First, they limit driving and rest for the driver at the material time such that fatigue is minimised. Equally importantly, they set a context for competition between hauliers – and therefore drivers – by specifying maximum driving periods and minimum rest periods so that these are not a factor that can influence one operator’s competitive position above that of another. Operators, and it follows drivers, cannot compete on the basis of driving excessively.
“…the research shows that between 1 in 5 and 1 in 6 deaths on the extra-urban road network is caused by a driver who is asleep at the time.”
After considering the positive work of the new transport manager, the commissioner found that the operation could be compliant in the future, so his decision was not a licence revocation.
Michael Swift was disqualified from acting as a transport manager for a period of ten years and until he sits and passes again the transport manager certificate of professional competence. Edgars Cederstrems had his vocational licence revoked for a year.
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