Between 30% and 50% of digital tachographs used in the Netherlands are said to be manipulated. The stunning claim, published on nieuwsbladtransport.nl, comes from the Dutch road transport inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport – ILT).
The inspectorate admits that it is far behind in its plans to defeat rogue hauliers, but hopes it will turn the tide soon.
According to the aforementioned report, the falsification of working time data is widespread in the Netherlands. It is done using such cunning methods that the Dutch inspectors have had serious problems detecting all the manipulations.
Frank Schouwaert, program manager for Intelligent and Safe Road Freight Transport at ILT, admits the inspectors are behind in the race to keep up with the techniques used by those tampering the tachographs. It is claimed that many of the methods used today are extremely difficult to detect during roadside checks.
The ILT, however, hopes this will change. It has started cooperation with companies from the automotive sector in order to better understand the various forms of manipulation used.
The inspectorate also want to improve its introduction of digital controls, thanks to which the officers will be able to check more data on carriers. In this regard, the ILT is counting on the development of the EU-wide ERRU system.
In addition, the ILT has also announced that the number of its truck inspections will increase.
Photo Twitter / @ ILT_Wegvervoer