The Gazette 1981

APRIL 1981

GAZETTE

1980 (S.I. No. 390 of 1980) exempt additional vehicle categories and uses insofar as transport operations within the state are concerned. Among the vehicles excluded by the Instrument are: (a) vehicles constructed and equipped to carry not more than 15 persons including the driver, (b) vehicles undergoing local road tests for repair or maintenance, (c) transport of live animals to or from local markets and transport of animals' carcases or waste not intended for human consumption, (d) use of specialised vehicles (not defined) at local markets, for door to door selling (not defined), for mobile banking, for worship, lending of books, records, or cassettes, for cultural or mobile exhibition, exhibition,. Vehicles operating regular services come within the scope of the EEC drivers' hours requirements, but do not have to install or use tachographs. Service time-tables and duty rosters covering a three-tweek period may be carried instead. In general, where vehicles are exempt from the EEC hours limitations, section 114 of the Road Traffic Act applies. The Tachograph The Tachograph itself is an instrument something like a speedometer or rev. counter incorporating a clock mechanism, which is mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle and connected directly to the gearbox. The Tachograph records driving time, speeds and distance driven. The actual recording equipment in the Tachograph consists of three styli which trace patterns on a recording disc. The disc or chart consists of a special coated paper which, when compressed by the action of the styli, becomes visible on the backing paper, leaving a legible pattern similar to that found on a Barometer. Before inserting the disc/chart, details of driver's name, place of departure, place of arrival, mileage reading at start (and finish), vehicle's registration number and date are entered manually. Details of the information provided by the disc/chart can easily be read from the chart, but for expert and detailed analysis, there is a process of microscopic analysis carried out by experts, which has shown to be extremely accurate. It can be seen, therefore, that the chart will provide a highly reliable record of any journey undertaken. The availability of such a record in legal proceedings would, of course, have far-reaching effects. Courts on the Continent have proved themselves very amenable to such evidence and, in a ruling, the German Federal Court has stated that "the Tachograph recorder is a piece of equipment designed specifically for the purpose of eliminating the serious unreliability of human obser- vations. Precedence is to be given to the recordings of the Tachograph before other forms of evidence. If contradictions exist between human observations and the recordings of the Tachograph recorder, proof of the mal- functioning of the Tachograph recorder is required." (BGH VIZR 118/62 VZR 24, 171). It can be seen, therefore, that Solicitors must be fully informed of the scope and details of these regulations

when involved in defence of prosecutions under the Regulations, Civil actions where one or more vehicles involved were fitted with Tachographs, and, in certain cir- cumstances, criminal cases. One such case is the celebrated German case where a stolen lorry fitted with a Tachograph was used to steal a large safe. The lorry was later found abandoned and, from the information on the Tachograph disc, the police reconstructed the journey the lorry had taken, and were able then to pinpoint the place where the safe had been taken to be cut open; ultimately, this information led to the arrest of the guilty parties. One cannot, of course, accurately assess the impact of Tachographs in Irish Courts, but there can be no doubt that in certain areas, such as Orders of Discovery, the Tachograph will loom large. Many problems of definition will also arise, e.g. "regular service" as referred to above is not defined, nor is "door to door selling." Before attempting to tackle such problems, Solicitors would be well advised to arm themselves with copies of the Statutory Instruments and the Council Regulations, particularly Council Regulations, No. 543/69 which is a most comprehensive and detailed document, containing many useful definitions and obligations not dealt with by the domestic legislation.

FOOTNOTE 1. Further details on the Drivers' hours and Tachographs regulations are available from the Department of Labour at: Dublin 765861 Extension 258.

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