Fine given as court hears truck had been driven for nearly 10 hours without break

A CO MEATH haulage company and one of its drivers have appeared at Navan District Court for alleged breaches of driving hours regulations.

The Road Safety Authority took cases against the GFH Farrelly Haulage Company of Knock, Castletown and driver Hendrik Jacobus Van Der Hendrik of Woodlands, Navan for alleged breaches in February and May 2024.

Prosecuting solicitor on behalf of the RSA David McEntee told the court that there were a number of charges before the court.

The driver had been stopped at a checkpoint whilst driving a rigid HGV hauling. It was found that there had been a number of incidents when the truck was being driven without a driver’s card which recorded driving times, breaks, rest periods and vehicle speed.

The tachograph card had not been calibrated for several months, the solicitor said.

On one occasion the truck had been driven for nine hours 44 minutes without a break. Another check found that it was driven for eight hours 36 minutes with “only a 30-minute rest”.

The court was told that the summonses against the drive were being struck out but the prosecutions against the company would proceed.

Mr McEntee said that the Farrelly company had a number of previous convictions both in terms of Road Safety Authority cases and environment cases.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan said she would only like to hear about the RSA cases. She was told that in February this year the company was convicted of failing to ensure that all data was downloaded from a vehicle and had been fined €1,000 and costs of €885. Also in February the company had been fined €1,000 for not holding a road haulage operator’s licence.

Defending solicitor Tadhg Boyle said that the company was accepting the fact that some of its oversight was not correct. The employee had since left the company through ill-health. Judge McKiernan said the lack of action in taking proper breaks was very serious not only for ordinary road users but also for the driver himself.

The judge imposed a €1,000 fine on one of the summonses and took the remainder into account and directed it to pay costs of €1,772. The employee had since left the company through ill-health.