Darryl Roy Mayers pleads guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to exceeding maximum truck driving hours

A Roma truck driver has been charged twice for driving over the legal 12 hour limit within a 24 hour time period. Here’s what the magistrate said.

A 51-year-old Roma man has faced court after heavy vehicle inspectors found he had driven on more than one occasion over the legal driving time limit.

Darryl Roy Mayers pleaded guilty in Roma Magistrates Court to exceeding maximum truck driving hours on two occasions.

Police prosecutions told the court that heavy vehicle inspectors stopped Mayers on the Warrego Highway in Roma near Pie Face for a routine inspection.

However, they observed the defendant’s work diary recorded two instances where he had driven by himself for longer than a period of 12 hours.

The work diary outlined Mayers had driven solo for 13.5 hours in July 2022 and 14.5 hours in August the same year.

It was revealed Mayers had previous history for not keeping a work diary, but no previous history relating to these specific charges.

While he was “polite and cooperative with inspectors,” prosecution said the punishment needed to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

“I’m asking for a fine that shows the seriousness of exceeding maximum driving hours and protects the community from fatigue related incidents,” the court was told.

Magistrate Shane Elliott said there’s “no doubt, back in the day (before these laws), many fatalities were caused by truck drivers working long hours”.

“It’s obviously dangerous for people to be driving heavy machinery longer than regulated hours,” he said.

Mayers was fined a combined $2750 for the two charges, which was referred to SPER.