Richard Samuel Dewart, 44, owner of Dewart Transport, Waringstown, Northern Ireland was convicted of forgery and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 3 years, at Craigavon Crown Court.

On 26 February, 2011, the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) conducted a joint enforcement operation with the Driver & Vehicle Agency that included the examination of vehicles owned by Dewart Transport. Following the execution of a PSNI Warrant to enter and search several of the company’s vehicles, a number were seized on the grounds that tachograph interrupter devices had been installed which, if activated, had the capability of disabling the tachograph and the speed limiter. Numerous tachograph records and various documents were also seized.

A detailed examination proved that an interrupter device had been activated to enable the driver to continue driving while the vehicle appeared to be stationary, resulting in false tachograph records.

Geoff Dunning, Chief Executive of the Road Haulage Association welcomed the news. “Falsifying driving records is planned in advance and is one of the most serious offences in road haulage. For that reason, the Road Haulage Association considers that the only effective deterrent for such an offence is a custodial sentence.”