Last week, road police in the Austrian region of Vorarlberg checked 49 HGVS, 22 of which were not permitted to travel further.
In total, the police discovered 176 minor, 68 severe and 41 extremely severe faults on the lorries inspected. The figures represented a “sobering record” according to one of the officers involved in the checks.
One of the reasons so many faults were found is that the police opted to specifically target older trucks and trailers.
The drivers of 22 trucks were only allowed to continue their journey after their vehicles’ defects had been rectified by a specialist mechanic.
In addition to mechanical faults on the trucks, some of the HGV drivers checked were guilty of drivers’ hours violations.
One example cited by the police concerned an Italian vegetable transporter, whose driver had exceeded permitted driving times on several occasions. He had to pay a fine of €7,300 for vehicle defects and violations of the drivers’ hours rules.
Photo credit: Dickelbers / Wikimedia Commons