It was supposed to be reliable, while tampering with it was considered impossible. Tachograph 3.0 was developed specifically to forever eliminate fraudulent driver behaviour. However, it turns out that this vision was merely wishful thinking. On national road 68 in Poland, Road Transport Directorate inspectors stopped a truck in which they detected a switch for the ‘reliable’ Tachograph 3.0 device.
This proves that there are no perfect devices, and that progress made by manufacturers also means progress in security breaching techniques,” say inspectors from the Voivodeship Road Transport Inspectorate in Lublin.
In order to detect the tampering, the truck had to be sent to the tachograph service.
Failed attempt
ITD officers discovered the manipulation as they checked the working time. The check showed that something was wrong, and the truck in question, which was carrying olives from Greece to Russia, was taken to a workshop.
Once there, the diagnosticians thoroughly checked the tachograph, pulse transmitter and wiring. They found that the device had been tampered with by using a combination of buttons to block the operation of the device. Although this technique is well known, it was not supposed to work on a device considered to be so reliable.
Now the driver will have to pay a deposit of PLN 12,000 to continue his journey.
This case proves that there are no switches that cannot be detected,” sum up the inspectors.
Perhaps they are right.
Photo credit @ WITD