Transport Act 1968

98 Written records

(1) The Minister may make regulations—

(a) for requiring drivers to keep, and employers of employee-drivers to cause to be kept, in such books as may be specified in the regulations records with respect to such matters relevant to the enforcement of this Part of this Act as may be so specified ; and

(b) for requiring owner-drivers and the employers of employee-drivers to maintain such registers as may be so specified with respect to any such books as aforesaid which are in their possession or in that of any employee-drivers in their employment.

(2) Regulations under this section may contain such supplementary and incidental provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient, including in particular provisions—

(a) specifying the person or persons from whom books and registers required for the purposes of the regulations are to be obtained and, if provision is made for them to be obtained from the Minister, charging a fee for their issue by him (which shall be payable into the Consolidated Fund);

(b) as to the form and manner of making of entries in such books and registers;

(c) as to the issue by and return to the employers of employee-drivers of books required to be kept by the latter for the purposes of the regulations;

(d) requiring any book in current use for the purposes of the regulations to be carried on, or by the driver of, any vehicle, as to the preservation of any books and registers used for those purposes, and otherwise as to the manner in which those books and registers are to be dealt with;

(e) for exemptions from all or any of the requirements of the regulations in respect of drivers of small goods vehicles as defined in section 103(6) of this Act and for other exemptions from all or any of those requirements.

(3) Subject to the provisions of any regulations made by the Minister, the traffic commissioners or licensing authority for any area may dispense with the observance by any employee-driver or his employer, or by any owner-driver, of any requirement imposed under this section, either generally or in such circumstances or to such extent as the commissioners or authority think fit, but the traffic commissioners or licensing authority shall not grant such a dispensation unless satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for the requirement dispensed with to be observed.

(4) Any person who contravenes any regulations made under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200; but the employer of an employee-driver shall not be liable to be convicted under this subsection by reason of contravening any such regulation whereby he is required to cause any records to be kept if he proves to the court that he has given proper instructions to his employees with respect to the keeping of the records and has from time to time taken reasonable steps to secure that those instructions are being carried out.

(5) Any entry made by an employee-driver for the purposes of regulations under this section shall, in any proceedings under this Part of this Act, be admissible in evidence against his employer.