The news means that inspections such as those that have been conducted in Sweden, in which drivers have been asked for hotel receipts or other docs to prove their weekly rest was not taken in their vehicle, have no legal basis.
Going by the reaction to the TTLA’s post, the Lithuanian haulage industry has been buoyed by the news.
The LinkedIn post by the TTLA received the thumbs up from staff at Vlantana, Baltic Transline, Hoptrans, and Magneto Logistics. It was also “celebrated” by the largest Lithuanian haulage company of them, all Girteka.
In a recent update, which can be read here, the Commission said it had been informed of several instances whereby national authorities had required drivers to provide evidence, such as hotel bills, to prove that they had spent their regular weekly rest in adequate accommodation outside their vehicle.
The Commission explains that according Article 36, records sheets (in case of analogue tachograph), and any manual records and printouts and the driver card (in case of digital tachograph), may be demanded. However, it adds that “Member States’ authorities may not require documents other than those referred to in Article 36 of this Regulation”.
More details regarding the clarification can be found in the article we published on Tuesday.
In the aforementioned post, the TTLA added that it hoped HGV inspectors across Europe would adhere to The Commission’s ruling.