News

An Irish driver already banned in his own country has now been banned from UK roads after being found guilty of tachograph fiddling and driving without an LGV licence or insurance. When Barry Wolverson from Dublin appeared before the Llandudno magistrates he admitted the offences. They imposed a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years with a two-year ban and £60 costs. James Neary, prosecuting, said the Scania artic driven by Wolverson was stopped on the A55 at Conwy en route to Holyhead  from Ghent. The tachograph showed the time as midnight when it was noon.

An examination of the tractor unit revealed an interrupter switch below the handbrake which switched off the tacho. Wolverson had failed to take the required rest. In 2003 Wolverson had been given a five-month suspended prison sentence at Holyhead for similar offences. He was currently serving a two-year driving ban imposed in Dublin which did not apply in the UK. Wolverson said many trucks were fitted with switches to turn off their tachographs in a bid to fool the police.

For Wolverson, Nia Dawson said he was simply a driver who had been given a time to get back to Holyhead to catch a ferry, and realised he wasn't going to make it within his legal hours. Because of financial pressures he behaved foolishly. He owed £70,000 after a business collapsed and had been offered part-time work providing holiday cover. Sentencing Wolverson, the magistrates said he had endangered road users. This was  his second offence and he must have been well aware of the situation.

NO EXCUSE

Magistrates in North Wales take a serious view of such offences because of the road safety issues surrounding the A55 expressway.