Court Report

Tachograph Offences & No Operator Licence

A Country Armagh operator has been convicted at Newry Magistrates’ Court and fined a total of £1000 after DVA Enforcement Officers stopped a curtain sided rigid goods vehicle near Banbridge.

An inspection of the vehicle was carried out including the tachograph records. It was found that the driver was using a digital tachograph card which did not belong to him. As the driver had been using the vehicle with a tachograph card of which he was not the named holder, a false record had been created. The vehicle was also not on a Goods Vehicle Operator Licence. When driver’s card was downloaded using the department’s analysing equipment it was noted that it had not been downloaded within the timeframe set by regulations, the deadline missed by 34 days. The operator was fined £250 for no Operator Licence; £250 for five counts of driving whilst failing to use a driver card; £50 for failing to download the driver card within the regulatory timeframe; £50 for failing to take sufficient daily rest; £150 for three counts of failing to take a break after four and a half hours of driving; £50 for recording false data; £50 for the cause or permitting the use of his driver card; £100 for two counts of exceeding the daily driving limit and £50 for causing or permitting the driving of a vehicle were the driver had not completed sufficient CPC training.

Fined £5,000 on Tachograph Charges

A County Armagh operator was convicted at Newry Magistrates’ Court and fined a total of £5,250 on a series of tachograph charges.

The conviction arose when DVA Enforcement Officers stopped a 3axle Scania articulated lorry in combination with a 3 axle trailer on the A1 near Banbridge and discovered the driver was using a driver’s card on which he wasn’t the named holder. The driver’s card that was used had not been downloaded in 271 days, 243 days outside the 28 day limit. Further analysis of the driver’s own card showed it had not been downloaded in 103 days, 75 days outside the 28 day limit. It was noted that the vehicle was driven without a card in the recording equipment on 5 occasions. The operator was fined £3,750 on five counts of causing or permitting the driving of a vehicle without a driver card being used and £1500 for two counts of failing to download a driver card within the regulatory timeframe.

Missed Tachograph Download Deadlines

A County Tyrone operator has been convicted at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court and fined a total of £1600 after DVA Enforcement Officers stopped a 3 axle Scania heavy goods vehicle in combination with a 3 axle trailer at Larne Harbour.

An analysis of the data taken from the vehicle’s tachograph unit highlighted the vehicle had been driven without a driver’s card inserted in the tachograph unit on 4 occasions. Analysis showed the vehicle’s tachograph unit had not been downloaded within the regulated timeframe of 90 days. The number of days since the previous download of the vehicle’s tachograph unit was 431 calendar days. Therefore, the download deadline had been missed by 341 days. Further analysis showed the driver’s card had not been downloaded within the required regulated timeframe of 28 days. The number of days since the previous download was 496 calendar days, therefore the downloaded deadline had been missed by 468 days. The vehicle was also not specified on an Operator Licence. The operator was fined £300 for failing to download the driver’s card within the specific time; £300 for failing to download the vehicle unit within the specified time; £500 for having no Operator Licence and £500 for cause/permitting driving whilst failing to use the recording equipment.

Magnet Used to Disrupt Tachograph Recording

A County Tyrone driver was convicted at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court and fined a total of £1450. The conviction arose when DVA Enforcement Officers examined a 3+3 axle Volvo articulated goods vehicle at Larne Harbour.

The driver’s tachograph records were examined and it was noted that he had used a magnet to manipulate the tachograph into recording rest whilst the vehicle was being driven. By doing this, he had also disguised the fact that he had failed to take the required minimum daily rest. He was fined £1000 for two counts of installing a device to interfere with the proper operation of the tachograph unit; £300 for two counts of driving whilst failing to use the recording equipment and £150 for failing to take the required daily rest.

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THERMO KING UNVEILS BREAKTHROUGH ADVANCER TRAILER REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS

Thermo King has unveiled three new breakthrough models of the Advancer trailer refrigeration solutions: the multi-temperature Advancer Spectrum, the Advancer AxlePower energy recovery system and the electric, engineless Advancer-e.

All Thermo King Advancer units are manufactured in the company’s state-of-the art and carbon neutral production line in Galway, Ireland. “From the outset, Thermo King’s ambition behind Advancer has been to move beyond incremental enhancements and to create trailer refrigeration systems that feature innovation never before seen on the market,” said Colm O’Grady, trailer product leader at Thermo King. “Our goal has been to develop even more sustainable refrigeration technologies, enable our products to fit alternative power sources, reduce energy consumption to the lowest possible levels, and to use this innovation to reduce the total cost of ownership of our products for our customers. The technology behind the expanded Advancer portfolio makes these goals a reality.” The three new trailer refrigeration systems, which featured at the recent IAA Transportation 2022 show in Hannover, Germany, expand the market-leading Thermo King Advancer A-Series portfolio, renowned for its performance, temperature control, unrivalled system efficiency and fleet connectivity.

ADVANCER SPECTRUM

The new Advancer Spectrum features a 48V DC mild-hybrid technology now available for temperature configurations of two distinct zones during the same journey, with precise temperature management and set point control. Advancer Spectrum introduces a new level of performance to the multi-temperature trailer Advancer A-Series, fastest temperature recovery and pulldown, and highest refrigeration capacity on the market. Advancer Spectrum delivers up to 30% savings on fuel costs compared to the market average. The units’ architecture also lowers service interval rate of up to 30% and reduces unscheduled maintenance by up to 60%. The new, custom-designed remote evaporators bring additional capacity to the remote zone, maximising the flexibility and efficiency of customers’ operations. Combined with the all-new Advancer multitemp controller, customers are able to precisely manage the temperature while gaining realtime insight into how the unit is running, how the temperature zones are performing and how much fuel the unit is using. Advancer Spectrum is the first multi-temperature trailer unit on the market offering complete transparency of fuel levels and consumption. Customers can access the fuel consumption and other data both on the unit and remotely via telematics, enabling them to optimise their fleet more innovatively. Fleet intelligence is standard, as Advancer Spectrum comes included with 2 years of full, two-way telematics connectivity service. The Advancer Spectrum’s unrivalled system efficiency significantly lowers customers’ CO2 footprint with engine emissions substantially lower than the maximum allowed by latest NRMM Stage V emission standards. The Whisper Pro version offers sound levels meeting the PIEK enforced standards, thus complying with the most stringent noise-regulations for quiet, innercity deliveries at any time of day and night. Advancer Spectrum units are also compatible with alternative power source solutions like the AxlePower or Envirodrive.

ADVANCER AXLEPOWER

Advancer AxlePower’s smart energy generating system delivers the power needed to run the trailer refrigeration unit by converting energy recovered by the trailer’s axle during the vehicle’s routine operation. Developed in partnership with BPW, a leader in running gears and mobility services for transport, the Advancer AxlePower is a fully integrated, tractor independent system that combines BPW’s ePower axle with Thermo King refrigeration unit and battery storage technology.

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Advancer AxlePower.

The system stores the energy generated while the vehicle is rolling or braking in a high voltage battery and reuses it to power the refrigeration unit – enabling fully electric, low or zero-emission and autonomous trailer refrigeration. The battery pack, depending on the configuration, provides an average of five hours of refrigeration unit autonomy to cover stationary operations. Featuring smart power management that controls the engagement and disengagement of the generators, Advancer AxlePower also minimises the resistance on the tractor and provides the driver and fleet manager with realtime performance visibility to avoid ‘charge anxiety’. The possibility to capture and reuse energy makes the Advancer AxlePower system an ideal solution to future-proof and increase the sustainability of all types of trailer journeys. With silent running and no CO2 emissions from the refrigeration unit when operating from the battery-pack, this technology allows customers to sustainably run long-haul and inner-city deliveries, including in Ultralow Emission Zones (ULEZs) and low noise urban areas.

ADVANCER-E

realization of carbon neutral trailer fleets, the Thermo King Advancer-e incorporates an engineless and electric architecture with all the features that make the Advancer A-Series the most efficient trailer refrigeration systems in the market. Advancer-e is poweragnostic and compatible with all major engine-alternative power sources including the Advancer AxlePower, Frigoblock’s Envirodrive alternator and inverter technology, Thermo King’s battery Energy Pack, and shore-power when stationed at the depot. With its fully electric architecture, one Advancer-e unit can reduce a trailer fleet’s carbon footprint by up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per year. Advancer-e is compatible with any tractor for inner-city deliveries or for long-haul assignments when combined with the right power technology solution available from Thermo King. The flexibility of the Advancer-e enables transport companies to be more than a step ahead of changing lowemission legislation. Combined with the same A-Series controller and intuitive telematics, the Advancer-e delivers sustainability advantages and temperature control efficiency - top strategic priorities for many transport companies making the move toward full electrification.