Tachograph Charges Deserted

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.