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 inspection by the DVSA.  All admitted charges of failing to take the necessary rest breaks, one driver also pleaded guilty to two charges of using a tachograph incorrectly, and one driver accepted a charge of making a false record. The director of the company, pleaded guilty to three charges of permitting drivers not to take minimum rest periods, a charge of permitting a driver not to take a minimum weekly rest and failing to provide tachograph records.  A routine inspection of the firm’s tachograph records revealed that the drivers had failed to take statutory rest breaks on several occasions. The company was fined £1,400 and will pay costs totaling £1,060.  The drivers will also have to pay fines and costs of between £358 and £1000 each. You can read the full story here. The fine and costs that the firm will have to pay would pay for a tachograph analysis Software as a Service solution such as Smartanalysis for ten years for all five drivers. This would minimise the risk of future prosecutions, expensive fines and show the authorities that they have systems and processes in place to manage their compliance. The enforcement authorities will continue to focus on the serially and seriously non-compliant operators.  The New Year is a good time to take stock and ensure you have a system and process in place for managing your drivers’ hours and working time obligations.