This is a REMINDER that it is the responsibility of all Drivers of Goods Vehicles to keep within the rules where ever possible, you can only use an excuse for going over the rules if it is a genuine emergency, this is if it would have affected the health and safety of either yourself/your load or the general public, there are now HEAVIER FINES/PENALTIES for breaching them, they can now go back 28 days and prosecute you for any offences that are within this period if you have not been fined for them previously, this would be a very expensive exercise for the drivers who think they can get away with it.
DVSA will now not accept such excuses as ALL LAYBYS FULL, they are now and have always said that you should have stopped earlier, the average fine is about £300 so 3 of those in a 28-day period does become an expensive mistake when there was no need to push it that little bit further.
Some companies now impose a penalty on drivers who keep breaching the rules because this can affect the operator’s licence, the penalty could go as far as you losing your job.
For more info, check out the .gov website