Blog posts about Enforcement

6 months in jail for tachograph fraud & abuse of drivers’ hours.

On Friday 4 January 2013 Mr G. Davidson from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire was jailed for six months at Carlisle Crown Court for tachograph fraud. The defendant was first…

Haulier suspended for drivers’ hours offences & false records

A Telford haulage operator has been suspended from running HGVs after Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones found that drivers had driven excessive hours, broken speed limits and…

O-licence revoked for drivers’ hours offences

Numerous records and drivers’ hours offences led to a haulage firm based in Motherwell being stripped of its O-licence. The offences were unearthed by the DVSA…

Suspended custodial sentence for tachograph cheat

On Monday 17th December 2012, Richard Samuel Dewart, 44, owner of Dewart Transport, Waringstown, Northern Ireland was convicted of forgery and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment,…

Transport Manager disqualified for 5 years

Stephen Drever-Marshall, the nominated Transport Manager on two licences – in the North of England was disqualified by North East Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney for five…

Tachograph cheat is banned for three years

An Aberdeen-based owner-operator has had his O-licence revoked and been disqualified from driving HGVs for three years after using magnets to interrupt digital tachograph recordings. The…

Progress in Europe on the Smart Tachograph

Euro Ministers reached agreement on 29 October for new regulations on the tachograph used in road transport across the EU. The objective of the new draft legislation is to…

National speed limit for HGVs to be increased

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Claire Perry, announced yesterday that the government is proposing to increase the national speed limit for HGVs over…

False tachograph records shrinks the fleet for coach operator

A coach operator has had its fleet cut from 91 to just 35 vehicles following a Public Inquiry with the Traffic Commissioner for the North of…

£50,000 fine for drivers’ hours offences

Following a VOSA led investigation, Liskeard company Darley Ford Transport (HGV) and Darley Ford Travel (PSV) were fined a total of £50,000 for drivers’ hour’s offences.…

Gist Expands Use of Cloud-Based Descartes Smartanalysis™ for European Road Transport Compliance

Descartes Systems Group today announced that Gist, a leading supply chain services provider, has expanded its use of Descartes Smartanalysis™, a tachograph analysis and compliance management solution,…

HGV driver disqualified for poor records and ignoring breaks

A West Midlands HGV driver was been disqualified for over twelve months for failing to observe required breaks and keeping poor records.  The Traffic Commissioner for…

Prison for driver after pleading guilty to 79 drivers’ hours offences

The RHA’s recent call for tougher sentences for drivers that deliberately falsify their tachograph records provoked plenty of comment. The United Road Transport Union were quick…

Dig deeper into unaccounted distance

Smartanalysis users can now dig deeper into unaccounted distance with a brand new Tachograph Analysis Report. In response to requests from customers the existing Descartes Smartanalysis…

HGV driver jailed for falsifying tachograph records

A HGV driver caused “danger to the public” by driving for about 500 hours more than he should have done.  The driver admitted ten offences of…

RHA and URTU agreement on tougher sentences for breaches of drivers’ hours law

The Road Haulage Association has amended its position on mandatory prison sentences for drivers defying drivers’ hours laws after the United Road Transport Union commented on…

Haulage firm to pay almost £2,500 after admitting drivers’ hours offences

D Jenkins and Son and five of the company’s drivers appeared in court on charges of failing to take the regulatory required rest breaks following an…

Smart tachograph specifications published

The Regulation on the new digital smart tachograph specifications was published on 27 May 2016. The digital tachograph was first introduced in 2006 as a device…

Police start seven day speed enforcement operation from today.

A week-long speed enforcement operation, co-ordinated by The European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) with the support of 27 countries across Europe started on Mon 20 August 2012.…

HGV Driver Fined £1000 for failing to take a break

A County Down Commercial Goods Vehicle Operator was fined a total of £1,000 at Omagh Magistrates’ Court for tachograph (drivers’ hours) offences. The charges came after…

Coach operator disqualified for drivers’ hours offences

A Dundee coach operator has been disqualified for two years from 31 May 2016 by Scotland’s Traffic Commissioner after breaching drivers’ hours and tachograph rules that…

Lifetime ban for haulier after tampering with tachograph for a second time

Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken informed George Davidson that he would be disqualified from driving HGVs and could not re-apply for his professional licence until his 75th…

Fixed penalties increased from 16 August

Department for Transport announced that fixed penalty levels will increase from 16 August 2013. Graduated fixed penalties and financial deposits for vans, trucks and buses are…

School coach service suspended for drivers’ hours infringements

A Coach firm providing transport for school children was suspended for two weeks for ‘significant shortfalls’ in drivers’ hours records management. The coach operator was found…

Disqualified for five years for drivers’ hours offences

A South Wales operator was disqualified by Traffic Commissioner for Wales, Nick Jones, for five years after committing over 100 driver’ hours offences.  The owner operator…

£300,000 fine and £150,000 in costs for falsifying driver records

Former Director of Alba Transport of Halifax, Danny Steven Sawrij, was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £150,000 in costs for falsifying driver records at Kirklees…

Cash-in-transit Company fined £600 for tachograph offences

Following an investigation by DVA Enforcement Officers into the operation of 19 vehicles owned by Brinks Ireland Ltd, the company was fined £600 on 15 October…

HGV driver fined £1000 for tachograph offences

A HGV driver has been fined £1,000 for tachograph and drivers’ hours offences after admitting thirteen charges when he appeared at Perth Sheriff Court. On 11 dates in March…

Indefinite ban from running HGVs

An Enfield-based fruit and vegetable retailer was banned indefinitely from running heavy goods vehicles following a history of non-compliance. Evidence presented convinced to Nick Denton, Traffic…

HGV driver jailed for tampering with tachograph

A Belgian HGV driver was jailed on Tues 28 May for attempting to hide the fact that he had not taken the required rest period before…

HGV drivers fined £34,410 in crack down on drivers’ hours and tachograph offences

A partnership operation by the police and VOSA over three weeks during November and December 2013 in Devon and Cornwall called Operation Fatigue resulted in fines…

Banned for life by Traffic Commissioner

The owners of two Maidstone haulage companies have been banned for life after an inquiry heard how their behaviour put road users at risk. The two…

Have your say on harsher penalties for drivers causing death by dangerous or careless driving

In 2015, 122 people were sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving with a further 21 convicted of causing death while under the influence. In a…

Smart tachograph specification informally agreed

Improving road safety and ensuring fair competition in road transport in the EU. The Specification for a new generation of digital tachograph for trucks and buses…

HGV Driver banned for false tachograph records and drivers’ hours infringements

The HGV driver was called to the Deputy Traffic Commissioner in Edinburgh in February after the authorities reported him for drivers’ hours infringements. He was originally…

The most complete lack of compliance ever seen?

The Traffic Commissioner for the North-east said a Middlesbrough minibus operator showed the “most complete lack of compliance” he has ever seen, as he revoked their…

DVSA improves OCRS to focus on the least compliant operators

The DVSA use the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system to help decide which vehicles should be stopped for roadside checks. It gives a score for risk…

North Wales Police use of HGV is a real eye opener

North Wales Police’ Commercial Vehicle Unit worked in partnership with VOSA and Roads Policing Officers to target HGV drivers flouting the law.  Using a HGV enabled…

“Truckcam” results in 180 offences being reported in two weeks.

Merseyside Police target HGV drivers in covert operation. Merseyside Police issued 180 road traffic offence reports, 17-fixed penalty notices and seized four vehicles during operation ‘Truckcam’,…

Driving without a digital tachograph driver card costs operator almost 3,000 Euros.

An Enniscorthy company was fined 2,500 Euros and ordered to pay costs of 400 Euros excluding VAT for a tachograph offence in 2014 in one of…

Banned, licence revoked and fined for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences

A haulier and transport manager that demonstrated “poor in the extreme” knowledge of drivers’ hours and tachograph compliance will lose his operating licence from 3 February…

£2,500 fine for failing to produce drivers’ hours and tachograph records

A Co Armagh haulage company was fined £2,500 at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Monday 11 February 2013 for failing to produce tachograph and drivers’ hours  records…

HGV Road User Levy Act starts 1 April 2014

The HGV Road User Levy Act 2013 imposes charges for vehicles over 12 tonnes gross vehicle weight for using UK roads.  The act applies to UK…

Suspended prison sentences for breaching tachograph and drivers’ hours regulations

A coach driver admits falsifying tachograph records and was handed out a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to pay £500 costs after…

Three year ban for falsifying drivers’ hours & tachograph records

An HGV driver was banned from professional driving for three years after falsifying drivers’ hours and tachograph records. Government inspectors had found that the driver used…

The HGV Road User Levy Act becomes law

On 28 February 2013 the HGV Road User Levy Act became law. The Department for Transport says that this will pave the way for a fairer…

Transport Manager loses his repute over CPC training & drivers’ hours infringements

A Transport Manager recently lost his repute indefinitely for failing to make sure his drivers had started their Driver CPC training and the drivers’ hours infringements…

Haulage firm shut down over drivers’ hours breach

Banned from running haulage firm after failing to give drivers rest breaks to comply with drivers’ hours requirements. Joan Aitken stripped the Operator Licence for Heavy…

21-year ban for HGV driver

A HGV driver has been disqualified from professional driving until June 2038 after his driver card was used by another employee to commit serious offences. The…

Breathalyser fines delayed indefinitely in France

The French Minister of Interior has announced an indefinite delay on the fines for motorists that do not carry a breathalyser kit with them in their vehicle.…

ILT increases fines for tachograph infringements in Netherlands

The Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) recently announced that the fines for manipulation of the tachograph will go up sharply. TLN the Dutch Association for Transport…

DVSA take new steps to focus on serially and seriously non-compliant operators

The DVSA has reiterated its intent to free up resources to tackle the worst offending transport operators. Caroline Hicks, DVSA Head of Enforcement, has said in the…

DVSA’s new search app makes enforcement checks quicker and easier

The DVSA’s frontline enforcement staff have access to a new search app to get all the information they need on a mobile phone or tablet device…

Convictions for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences fall

According to the latest figures from VOSA the number of convictions for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences has almost halved since 2009. However, breaches of drivers’…

DfT consults on proposals to make historical drivers’ hours offences subject to fixed penalty notices.

The Department for Transport is seeking comments on their proposals to change the legislation to allow roadside enforcement officers to issue fixed penalty notices and financial…

Have your say on the conduct of professional HGV, bus and coach drivers

The commercial vehicle industry has been invited to contribute to a consultation on how Traffic Commissioners deal with the conduct of professional truck, bus and coach…

DVSA publish their 2018 to 2019 Annual Review

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency work hard to keep everyone safe on our roads. They have just published their Annual Report for 2018 to 2019.…