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The
most serious offence in the drivers hours and tachograph legislation is
that of falsifying records. Any person who makes or causes to be
made a record which he knows to be false, can on conviction be sentenced
to imprisonment for up to 2 years.
Digital tachographs
When using a digital tachograph on inserting
your card you will be asked whether or not this is your start time and
the same when you remove the card, whether or not it is your finish
time. If you answer yes to either of these when you know that it
is not (for example where you have clocked or earlier or finished later)
then you may be found guilty of a false record.
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Analogue charts
Where a vehicle is away from base and being driven by one person,
if the odometer reading at the start of the next day matches that for the
previous day and yet the distance trace does not match, then the starting
odometer reading is incorrect and therefore false. Where the
distance trace does not match at base, there can of course be explanations
i.e. that
the vehicle was moved in the yard or driven by mechanics, for road
testing, but even this would have to be proved. |
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numerous occasions whilst away from base, drivers are removing their
charts and then driving - albeit for short distances. They then
insert a chart for the next day showing the start odometer reading as the
same as the finish odometer reading for the previous day. This of
course is known by the driver to be incorrect, since he drove the vehicle
without a chart in the head. It is the easiest false record that the
Police or Ministry will find and there can be no defence to it. All
driving -whether to go to get food and refreshment or for whatever reason,
must be recorded. There is no such thing now as private driving when
driving vehicles to which this legislation applies. |
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You
must also be aware that many companies will not have insurance to cover
this driving, when not on company business and drivers may also be guilty
of driving without insurance. This puts the company in a precarious
position, because if they say that a driver had permission to drive their
vehicle they will be guilty of permitting him to drive without insurance.
In these cases companies have had to say that they did not give permission
for the use of the vehicle and drivers have been prosecuted for taking the
vehicle without consent and no insurance
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If
you drive a vehicle without a chart put the new odometer reading on the
next day's chart. You will still commit an offence but not one that
is as serious as a false record. Better still do not drive without a
chart!
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It
is a common practice for drivers to take the start odometer reading from
their previous chart where they are driving the same vehicle.
This practice must stop because the vehicle may have been moved,
between the driver’s two charts.
Always take the starting odometer reading from the tachograph
itself.
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The
Police will pick up even small differences of just a few kilometers
between charts, so make sure you do not try to cover up mileage covered
without a chart.
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IF
YOU ARE USING OUR ANALYSIS SERVICE WE WILL INDICATE WHERE A DISTANCE TRACE
DOES NOT MATCH BETWEEN CHARTS.
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| For
a copy of these codes go to
information sheet 12. |
