Tachograph offences fall into categories

Drivers' hours breaches**
False records*
Failure to use tachograph equipment correctly**
Record keeping offences**

*False records are imprisonable if directed to the Crown Court.
**Are not mandatory endorsement of penalty points or disqualification although a court has the power to disqualify any one from driving for any offence

What you say to police or VOSA at the roadside under caution, may determine whether there will be a prosecution or not. This is classed as an interview which may be used as evidence against you in a court of law.

VOSA is under the umbrella of the DfT who are responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of drivers' hours policy in the UK. VOSA and the Police do not always have the same views when interpreting tachograph offences, and even have different views from one police force to another.

VOSA have no powers of arrest, although they are bound by the P.A.C.E (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) as though they are police officers.

If a tachograph record appears to be wrong - insufficient rest break, driving over 4.5 hours without a break, malfunctioning equipment etc - and the driver, when questioned by either VOSA or the police says nothing at the roadside, and does not explain why these have happened, it goes to court and in his defence he then says why these have happened, the court may wonder why this defence was not raised at the roadside when first questioned by either VOSA or the Police. On the other side of the coin, it may be good to raise the defence when at court, especially if at the roadside the Police or VOSA officers may not have specifically asked him to account for something.

In any court proceedings the driver must acknowledge what has been said by him under caution at the roadside or by what has been omitted by them.

Interviewing Foreign Drivers

A foreign driver working for a company in the UK, has the right to have a solicitor present at the interview (at the roadside) if he has difficulty understanding English or the interviewer cannot speak that person's own language or the driver wants an interpreter present.

Document production.

If requested by VOSA or the Police, the driver must produce:

Records for the current week and those for the previous 28 calendar days
A digital driver card if held by the driver so that its contents may be analysed, and
Any manual record and printout made during the current and previous 28 days.

For occasional drivers and mixed working:

There is a difference of opinion between VOSA and the Police on the documentation to be produced.

There are two approachs, the first being; the driver only needs to use tachograph equipment on the day in which he falls into EU driving legislation and produce his driving documents. The driver will not break any law by not producing any records other than those listed above.

The other approach is that the driver must be able to produce records which show his driving duties even on days that he was not under EU tachograph regulations and failure to do so consititutes a prohibition and a £200 fixed penalty for failing to produce the required documents.

VOSA it seems are standing by their interpretation of what a driver must produce at the roadside and are standing by their imposition of prohibition and fixed penalty notices.

There is a clear lack of understanding which is understood by all on the legal position. Many operators are already aware of this problem ensuring their drivers have with them documentation for the previous 28 days, whether in scope or not, and as far as including holidays recorded on manual charts to avoid delays and financial penalties.

It has been brought to our notice the possibility of a prosecution for Permitting No Driving Licence.

The situation could be that you have picked up a disabled vehicle and have offered your courtesy vehicle to the driver.

DO CHECK HE HAS A VALID DRIVING LICENCE

• If you know the driver of the disabled vehicle - do not take it for granted that he has a full driving licence.

• If it is late at night and you have had a long day and just want to get home - do not take it for granted because he has been driving the disabled vehicle that he has a full driving licence.

• Just because he/she looks respectable, do not take it for granted he/she has a full driving licence.

You have lent the driver your courtesy car and he/she is either pulled over by Police for whatever reason/routine stop check or he/she has just had an accident in it and Police attend the scene.

The likelihood is great that the Police will ask to see his/her driving documents. He/she will say that it is a courtesy car from (naming the recovery company) so the production of insurance and MOT (if applicable) will fall on the recovery company.

He/she cannot produce a valid driving licence, either hasn't got it on them, is disqualified, provisional licence etc. etc. and is given a producer at a nominated police station.

If he/she produces a valid driving licence at the nominated police station - all is OK, however, it can come back on you, the recovery company if it turns out that the driver of the courtesy car does not have a valid driving licence because he/she is disqualified, has a provisional or doesn't have one at all.

The probability is that the Police will then attend your premises and report you for the offence of Permitting No Driving Licence, which if it goes to court could add between 6 - 8 penalty points on your licence.

However in saying this, it is more difficult to prosecute a company for Permitting No Driving Licence than an individual although it can happen. More than likely, the company if found guilty would receive a fine rather than penalty points on your licence. On the other hand, if the recovery company passed the blame to the recovery technician, and Police pursued the recovery technician for Permitting No Driving Licence, then he/she could receive the penalty points on his/her own licence.

Finally, it is stated on your insurance words to the effect that if you loan/lend your vehicle to an unknown person, it is your responsibility to ensure that person has a full valid driving licence and if you allow a person to drive without seeing his/her licence and this person is then involved in any incident, the insurance company may well void any claim made as you have not made this small but could be very important check.

Always check the driving licence of the person you are lending a courtesy vehicle to. It is in your interest.

Note: If you believe this information is incorrect in any way, then please notify the office who will investigate further and report back in a future magazine and on the website.

Measures to improve skills and safety for new motorcycle riders, drivers of lorries and buses and new drivers who want to tow medium sized trailers has been confirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT) in conjunction with the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

The new measures will ensure that Great Britain meets new European requirements on driver testing, training, examination and licensing which come into force in 2013. Other motorists will not be affected.

The main aspects of the new requirements are:

• Motorcyclists - The current two categories of motorbike will be replaced with three - A1 (up to 125cc), A2 (up to 35Kw) and A (above 35Kw) - and new rules introduced for riders of larger bikes. Riders wanting to progress to larger categories of motorbikes will have to take a further test and there will be a rise in the minimum age from 21 to 24 for those wishing to start riding larger bikes without previous experience.

• However, riders moving from smaller to larger motorcycles will not need to do a familiarisation course as originally proposed in the consultation. Instead, as suggested by the Motorcycle Industry Association, riders who have had a full licence for smaller bike for two years or more will need to be accompanied by an Authorised Trainer while on public roads until they have passed their test.

• Trailer towing - New car and light van drivers wanting to tow trailers will be able to tow a slightly larger trailer on a normal car driving licence (category B), if they take a further test or undertake training. There will also be a restriction on the overall size of the vehicle/trailer combination that can be driven on a category B+E licence entitlement (car/light van plus trailer).

• Licence renewals for bus and lorry drivers - at present, drivers of medium-sized and large buses and lorries need to renew their licences every five years once they reach the age of 45. Over-45s also need to demonstrate their fitness to drive through a full medical report. From 2013, under-45s who drive these vehicles will also need to confirm medical fitness and renew their licence every five years. However, under-45s will not require a full medical report and will still only need to renew their photograph every 10 years. All other drivers and riders will continue to renew their driving licences every 10 years as is currently the case.

• Driving examiners - Compulsory initial qualification, periodic training and quality assurance checks for driving examiners will be required for driving examiners. The DSA already fulfils most of these requirements but the introduction of periodic training will enhance these existing arrangements.

Rosemary Thew, Chief Executive of the Driving Standards Agency which is responsible for delivering driver testing and setting standards for driver training, said:

"It's important that everyone has the skills they need to drive or ride safely.

As well as your age, the different vehicle categories on your driving licence tell you what type of vehicles you are able to drive. These categories are also set by the weight of the vehicle.

Unladen weight: the unladen weight of any vehicle is the vehicles own weight when not carrying any goods or burden. This is:

Inclusive of the body and all parts which are necessary to or ordinarily used with the vehicle or trailer when working on a road
Exclusive of fuel and, in the case of an electrically powered vehicle, the batteries.

Maximum authorised mass: The term maximum authorised mass (MAM), used in the context of driving licences, is the maximum weight of a vehicle or trailer including the maximum load that can be carried safely while used on the road. This is also known as gross vehicle weight (GVW) or permissible maximum weight. It will be listed in the owner's manual and is normally shown on a plate or sticker fitted to the vehicle. The plate or sticker may also show a gross train weight (GYW).

Down-plating: If a vehicle is unlikely to be used at its potential maximum weight, it may be down-plated, so that a lower weight is specified on the plate. In the case of a heavy goods vehicle, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) should be consulted because VOSA issue the ministry plate that must be carried on the vehicle. For other vehicles, the manufacturer should be contacted.

Maximum Weights: The maximum weights at which vehicles, trailers and articulated combinations can be used are marked on the vehicle's plate or ministry plating certificate, and can be found in the owner's manual. On some vehicles the maximum weights may also be listed on the vehicle registration certificate (V5C). If in any doubt, the vehicle or trailer manufacturer should be contacted.