Tachograph Charges Deserted

Kept Licence
Dumbarton Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court

Tachograph cases are often avoided by lawyers on both sides of the court table. Due to the complexity of the rules and the time involved to properly prepare these cases it is a common occurrence that pleas are negotiated between Crown and defence. This allows the Crown to tick their conviction box and the defence can limit the impact on a client’s wallet by restricting the financial penalty.

This particular matter was heard in Dumbarton Justice of the Peace Court on 31 October 2018. It was clear from the outset that the Crown would struggle to prove the charges which involved permitting the falsification of tachograph data and failing to exhibit the certificate of professional competence as required by the legislation. Not guilty pleas were eventually accepted on the day of the trial. We are very much obliged to the Crown for considering our representations and not just putting our awkward case to the bottom of the pile.

Published: 31/10/2018

Need help with a similar case?

Contact Us

See also

The Long Arm Of The Law

Our client was charged with using his mobile phone to text whilst driving. The police officer was adamant that from a distance of around 10 feet with nothing to obstruct his view he clearly saw our client using his right hand to send a text message. He was unable to see his left hand at all and presumed that it must have been on the steering wheel. The officer was asked if he noticed anything about our client at the time to which he replied that he had not. Our client was then invited to remove his jacket in the dock to reveal that he did not have a right arm. Needless to say that the officer was suitably mortified. This case attracted national front page headines across the UK - 'The Long Arm Of The Law' (which you can view in our Press & Media section). Our client was formally acquitted of the charge....