A HGV driver who broke drivers’ hours rules has been disqualified from professional driving for a year. The driver was found to have driven excessive hours on two occasions in the same week while working for a removal company in Walsal. The Traffic Commissioner, Kevin Rooney said it was highly likely that the driver would have suffered from fatigue after driving for 18 hours out of 24 and 15 hours out of 19. Drivers’ hours law and tachograph rules mean drivers must take specific breaks and rest periods. The decision to revoke the driver’s professional licence and disqualify him until February 2017 came after a hearing in Birmingham. The Traffic Commissioner was told how the driver had been stopped at the UK Control Zone in Coquelles on April 23. Records showed that the driver had inserted a digital driver card at 1.14am on April 23 but after questioning it was revealed that he had actually used another driver's card and drove for over eight hours before using his own card to drive for a further six hours and creating a false record of his driving duties. This story highlights the high cost to drivers that attempt to falsify their drivers’ hours and the need for all road transport operators to have a robust process for driving licence checks when they are first employed and at regular intervals throughout their employment. Source: expressandstar.com