Key takeaways:
- Transportstyrelsen reviewed the period from December 2024 to January 2025.
- Inspectors identified 10 instances in which the haulier’s CEO used another driver’s card.
- In 12 cases, the switch between the two cards took only 25–45 seconds.
- The inspection also found eight improper card removals from the tachograph and 21 missing manual entries.
- The calculated penalties came to almost 300,000 Swedish kronor. However, a statutory ceiling set at 1% of the company’s annual turnover means the haulier will pay just over 54,000 Swedish kronor.
- Since 1 August 2026, Sweden has enforced significantly tougher rules on tachograph manipulation.
The inspection involved a company from Västergötland and covered the period from December 2024 to January 2025. According to Swedish transport news outlet trailer.se, investigators became suspicious after reviewing activity recorded on one of the driver cards.
Tax records showed that the cardholder had not received any pay from the haulier during the inspection period, or immediately before or after it. The company was also unable to produce documents clearly linking any payments to that driver.
The company offered several explanations. It initially claimed that the driver had invoiced the business for his work, then said he had outstanding obligations to the company. Later, it referred to payments made through Swish. However, it could not identify which transactions had actually been paid to the owner of the card under review.
Investigators also discovered that the card used in the vehicle had been reported lost in March 2023 and replaced. Once a card is declared lost, it becomes invalid, even if it is later found. Despite this, the cancelled card continued to be used to record activity.
Card changes completed in 25–45 seconds
An analysis of the records revealed a clear pattern. The second driver’s card was used almost exclusively immediately before, after or between journeys recorded under another person’s name.
In 12 cases, only 25–45 seconds elapsed between the removal of one card and the insertion of the other. Transportstyrelsen considered such short intervals strong evidence that the same person had used both cards. After reviewing all the evidence, the agency attributed 10 instances of driving with another driver’s card to the company’s CEO.
Inspectors also concluded that, if he had used only his own card, he would not have been able to complete the recorded transport operations while complying with the rules on driving and rest periods.
The haulier blamed the company’s work model, which involved numerous short trips and frequent switches between driving a lorry and operating an excavator. It argued that a driver might have left their card in the tachograph while another person started driving without first removing it.
Transportstyrelsen did not accept that explanation. Its decision also noted that one of the company’s drivers had previously been stopped by police while driving with another person’s card inserted in the tachograph.
Statutory cap cuts calculated penalties from almost 300,000 kronor to just over 54,000 kronor
The inspection uncovered further breaches. In eight cases, cards were removed from the tachograph in a way that affected the recording of driver activity. In a further 21 cases, required manual entries were missing, including records relating to work and movements connected with driver changes.
The company said it was unaware of the rules governing manual entries. Transportstyrelsen stressed, however, that a lack of knowledge does not release a business from its responsibilities.
The total value of the administrative penalties was almost 300,000 Swedish kronor (around €27,000). The company’s turnover in 2024 was just over 5.4 million Swedish kronor (around €485,000), while the sanction is capped at 1% of annual turnover. As a result, the final amount payable is just over 54,000 Swedish kronor (around €4,800).
Transportstyrelsen issued warnings for the five remaining breaches rather than imposing additional financial penalties. The decision is final and legally binding.
Sweden tightens penalties for tachograph manipulation
The breaches described above took place between December 2024 and January 2025, before Sweden’s latest reform came into force.
The rules introduced in Sweden on 1 August 2026 are significantly tougher on tachograph manipulation. They provide for fines or up to one year in prison for offences including falsifying, blocking or deleting data stored in a digital tachograph or on a driver card.
Administrative penalties have also been increased for certain cases involving driver cards obtained with false information or forged documents.
Police officers and inspectors now have broader powers during checks. Where there is reasonable suspicion of manipulation, they may search a vehicle for equipment used to falsify records. Police may also inspect a driver and their luggage when looking for another person’s card or forged cards.
The new rules also allow unannounced technical inspections away from public roads, including on private property, at logistics centres and at transhipment terminals.
The new regulations did not provide the legal basis for the penalties in this case, because the journeys under review took place before the rules came into force.
The case nevertheless shows how closely Transportstyrelsen examines the use of driver cards. Investigators considered not only driving-time records, but also card changes separated by just a few dozen seconds, missing manual entries and payment information relating to one of the cards. Since Sweden tightened its rules in August 2026, the risks associated with manipulating tachograph records have become even greater.
