Welsh freight haulage driver fined for smoking in cab
Date: 25 October 2007
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A Welsh freight haulage driver caught smoking in his lorry's cab had to pay £185 in fines and costs, RoadTransport.com reports.
Leonard King, of Kinmel Bay in North Wales, was spotted throwing his cigarette butt out of the truck window by a council dog warden, David Lightfoot.
Lightfoot noted down King's registration number and reported it, whereafter the driver was traced to a haulage firm in Rhyl.
King paid a £75 fixed penalty charge for littering by throwing the butt out of the cab, but refused to pay a further £75 fine for smoking illegally in the vehicle.
Llandudno magistrates then ordered him to pay the £75 fine, £30 in investigative costs, £65 legal costs, and a £15 victim surcharge.
The case is one of the first of its kind, following the smoking ban that came into effect across England, Wales and Northern Ireland on July 1st.
The ban extends to trucks and vans in freight exchanges, with companies having to display no-smoking signs inside vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles with sleeper cabs are not exempt.
The FTA has produced a Smoking Compliance Guide, and additional queries can be answered by the FTA member advice centre on 0870 605 0000.
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