While out driving today I discovered that the tacho had stopped working. I carried on till the end of my shift and reported it to the transport manager. On telling him about the defective tacho he told me that he already knew about the defect but that the tacho worked intermittently. Later on I get a phonecall from the transport manager telling me that My own truck had failed it,s MOT and that I would have to drive the same truck as today. I replied that I would not drive a vehicle with a defective tacho and I was refusing to drive the vehicle tomorrow. Did I do the right thing or have I left myself wide open for diciplinary action? Your thoughts please. 
scanny fanny:
While out driving today I discovered that the tacho had stopped working. I carried on till the end of my shift and reported it to the transport manager. On telling him about the defective tacho he told me that he already knew about the defect but that the tacho worked intermittently. Later on I get a phonecall from the transport manager telling me that My own truck had failed it,s MOT and that I would have to drive the same truck as today. I replied that I would not drive a vehicle with a defective tacho and I was refusing to drive the vehicle tomorrow. Did I do the right thing or have I left myself wide open for diciplinary action? Your thoughts please.
you did the right thing the tacho must be repaid on return to base!
if you was out tramping you would have a week to repair it or else you have to have it repaired at a aproved repairer on the road!
Spot on Scanny. Refusal to drive an un-roadworthy vehicle is grounds for a bonus not getting fired.
driving goods vehicles - the official DSA syllabus:
If there’s anything wrong with the tachograph it should be replaced or repaired by a DETR-approved centre as soon as possible. If the vehicle can’t return to base within 7 days of failure of the tachograph or the discovery of its defective operation, the repair must be carried out during the journey. While it’s broken you must keep a manual record either on the charts or on a temporary chart to be attached to the charts.
yes mate you done the right thing. your boss should not even ask you to take out a truck that is not roadworth, at the end of the day you paid for the licence not your boss. it’s you that get’s booked and possible a day in court. it’s the bosses problem not your’s. it’s like our lot,the tax was due for renewal but the disk had not turned up in the post so i told them that i was refusing to drive it, they came out with the disk is in the post, i replied it should be in the window not in the post, if i got stopped it’s a simple case of failure to display here’s your ticket driver on you go. they had to hire a truck in after trying to persuede me to take it out.no chance, stick to your right’s alway’s keep yourself in the right. 
Ask your gaffer if he would drive his car if the brakes were faulty and see what his reply would be…
Log the tacho off in the defect book,date,time it,and get a copy,then if they insist that you take it out and you get stopped,then show the officer concerned what you have done.
But yes,refusal is much better than a fine and any company worth their salt wouldn’t ask a driver to break the law by driving defective vehicles.
Ken.
while the taco is defective you are limited to driving only 450 km…i think that rule still appplies from the changeover log books to taco…taco in vechile drive as far as possible …log book meant only drive 281 miles