Staffordshire haulage bosses banned over deception device

Robert Starkey and his 85-year-old mother Audrey Starkey, both from Brownhills, operated under their own names and under P&R Transport, based in Hednesford.

The bans were handed out by the Traffic Commissioner for the West Midlands, Nick Jones, following an inquiry.

Robert Starkey, aged 59, was disqualified from professional driving for two years after fitting a deception device to his truck in an attempt to conceal his driving records from authorities.

Traffic bosses described it as 'jeopardising the safety of the travelling public'.

The device prevents any driving being recorded on the tachograph, giving the impression the vehicle has been stationary. It conceals the true amount of driving undertaken and allows a driver to work outside of the legal regulations.

He has also been banned from holding an operator's licence for three years.

His mother has been banned from obtaining or holding an operator's licence for one year for 'failing in her responsibilities' of running the firm. She must pass fresh examinations before she can act as a transport manager again.

Traffic commissioner Mr Jones said: "Any operator or driver who fits an interrupter device does so with a view to deceiving regulatory authorities as to the true position on hours driven. There are significant road safety consequences.

"In terms of seriousness, the fitting of an interrupter device must be even more serious than an isolated use of a magnet. The fact that it was the operator who as a driver had the device fitted makes this even more serious."

In response, Mrs Starkey said: "We are sorry this has happened and Robert is sorry he had the device fitted. It was a silly thing to do and there was no need to do it."

Mr Starkey was stopped in Scotland by a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiner in September 2015. The DVSA officer examined the tachograph recording equipment.

Mr Starkey admitted a switch had been fitted to the device.

Giving evidence to the commissioner at the inquiry on August 2, Mr Starkey claimed he had not used the switch to conceal driving records and was not under time pressure to complete work for his client – a supermarket.

Mr Jones concluded that he had paid for the device to be fitted with a view to using it. He was also critical of Mrs Starkey, who was named as a partner and transport manager on the licence. The Traffic Commissioner found that she did not know the drivers' hours rules, had not conducted any analysis of her son's tachograph records and had no idea when vehicles were due for routine and legally required safety inspections.

She said she had trusted her son not to accept more work than he could legally carry out.

The licence is revoked from September 1.