Last Thursday, Germany’s Federal Office for Goods Transport worked alongside the Bielefeld customs office to conduct truck checks at a rest area near Gütersloh. More than a third of the trucks inspected were found to have violated the law in one way or another.
A total of 56 vehicles were scrutinized as part of the inspection.
Gestern (11.03.) führten wir an der Tank- und Rastanlage Aurea in #RhedaWiedenbrück in der Zeit von 9:00-14:00 Uhr Schwerlastkontrollen durch. Der Schwerpunkt lag u.a. in der Überwachung der Lenk- und Ruhezeiten im gewerblichen Güter- und Personenverkehr https://t.co/qD2RqG0no9 pic.twitter.com/GVHe46RiCa
— Polizei NRW GT (@polizei_nrw_gt) March 12, 2021
As a result of various violations, 10 legal proceedings had to be initiated and a further 12 on-the-spot fines were collected on site. The police recorded not only violations of road traffic law, such as overloading and inadequate load securing, but also several offenses regarding animal welfare during the transport of livestock.
One of the trucks inspected was conducting illegal cabotage, and legal proceedings were thus initiated against its driver. In addition, the trucker was only able to continue his journey after paying a security deposit of 2,500 euros.
Another two drivers were also arrested on the basis they did not have the legal right to reside in Germany.
The police in Gütersloh have said they will conduct more inspections such as this in the future in order to better facilitate “traffic safety, the fight against undeclared work and illegal employment, as well as compliance with statutory provisions in the freight transport sector.”
Photo: Gütersloh police
