The road police officer made the comments during her speech on road safety at the aforementioned conference, held in Brussels on December 8th.
Among the issues highlighted by Eskes were the sheer complexity of the rules, and the need for officers to be highly trained.
“This means that enforcement can only be imposed by well trained police officers. To check a truck or bus nowadays you need to be a high-level expert”, said Eskes.
Offering examples to back up her point, Eskes referred to the prohibition of drivers taking the mandatory 45 hours weekly rest in the cabin of the truck. According to Eskes, there is no comprehensive method by which an officer can check this in a proper way.
The road police officer also talked about the difficulty in discovering tachograph manipulations:
“Мanipulation of tachographs is a very sophisticated violation which only very highly-trained officers are able to detect. And for this type of roadside checks police also need specific equipment which is very expensive hence often scarcely available.”
The biggest takeaway from Eskes’ presentation was arguably her conclusion that there is a disproportionate ratio between size of sanctions and the financial advantage haulier gain by breaking the rules.
“Fines seem to be high, but they are low compared to the economic advantage that is gained by not obeying the law. So we see a lot of recidivism. One of my officers in the Netherlands stopped a truck with the same driver three weeks in a row with a load of hay too high and too long for the trailer. The statement of the driver was that his boss said he preferred paying the fines rather than paying for extra fuel and extra payroll and losing another transport order,” Eskes told the audience.
She added that due to financial considerations, hauliers are also cutting corners with vehicle maintenance, which is why the police are coming across lots of badly maintained trucks.
