Enniskillen Magistrates Court
A LOCAL bus driver, and the company he works for, has escaped a fine after breaking regulations by driving for 12 days in a row.
However, despite having breached the six-days-in-a-row rule, the driver had actually clocked up only 32 hours on the road in those 12 days, more than 20 hours less than the 56 hours legally permitted in one week.
Noel McDonagh (43) of Moans Cross, Brookeborough, pleaded guilty to failing to take a weekly rest day at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday.
His employer, Borderline Coach Hire Ltd, located at Killronan Road, Crocknagowan, Lisnaskea, pleaded guilty to having an employee who had contravened the rules around weekly rests for drivers, and a charge of failing to make regular checks to ensure compliance with the rules.
The issue was detected after McDonagh was stopped in Lisburn on March 9 and checks were carried out on his driving documents, including the bus’s tachograph, which showed a potential daily rest offence.
It transpired McDonagh had made an incorrect entry on the tachograph, entering the wrong date for one day, and when it was corrected the chart showed he had driven for 12 days in a row, from February 20 until March 3.
McDonagh explained he drove very few hours over that time, and didn’t realise he’d done anything wrong.
too late
The court heard McDonagh would’ve been within the statutory limit of six days, however he had taken a booking without his boss’s knowledge and by the time the issue came to light it was too late to cancel the booking without letting their customers down.
Director of the company, Mr Moan, said while he understood the importance of the regulations for long distance drivers, bus drivers could be driving just a couple of hours a day doing a school run.
The director added Borderline Coaches had since implemented changes and implemented training, for example.
Judge Broderick gave both McDonagh and the company a conditional discharge, meaning if they don’t reoffend within the next 12 months they will escape a conviction.
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