Key findings:
- Cabotage documentation issues: The transport documents presented during the inspection did not support the movement as a lawful cabotage operation.
- Four regular weekly rests in the cab: The driver said he had been living in the vehicle since leaving Lithuania on 8 September and had taken four regular weekly rest periods there.
- No return arrangement: Inspectors found that the driver had not been offered the opportunity to return to Lithuania in connection with two regular weekly rests during the period under review.
- The total sanction for the violations came to approximately €16,400.
- Vehicle immobilised: The haulier needed almost two hours to raise the funds and settle the outstanding amount.
- Another similar case within days: The same inspection group had recently dealt with another Lithuanian haulier over violations involving a driver’s rest arrangements.
The inspection took place on Sunday afternoon in Sala, central Sweden. Officers from the road transport inspection group based in Västerås stopped a vehicle operated by a Lithuanian haulage company and carrying fish.
The first issue concerned the transport documents. The consignment note stated that the load had been collected in northern Norway and was due to be delivered to Riga. The driver told inspectors, however, that he had collected the loaded trailer at a truck stop in Docksta, Sweden, and was then expected to leave it in Västerås.
Swedish officials concluded that the documents did not support a lawful cabotage operation. They then requested the documents for the journey on which the driver had previously entered Sweden. Those records showed that he had transported cargo from Poland, which was unloaded in Haparanda.
During a further interview, another consignment note emerged.
After a brief conversation with the driver, another consignment note suddenly appeared. It indicated that he had also collected a trailer carrying fish in Töre and left it in Docksta for another driver. This document also failed to meet the requirements for a cabotage movement, inspector Roger Ogemar told Swedish trade magazine Tidningen Proffs.
Four regular weekly rests taken in the cab
The inspection also revealed problems with the organisation of the driver’s rest periods. He told officers that he had been living in the lorry’s cab since leaving Lithuania on 8 September. During that time, he had taken four regular weekly rest periods in the vehicle.
Under EU rules, a regular weekly rest of at least 45 hours cannot be taken inside a vehicle. When the driver is an employee, the employer must cover the cost of suitable accommodation away from the lorry.
According to the driver, his employer had not paid for accommodation outside the vehicle.
Inspectors also challenged the return arrangements
Swedish authorities also identified a possible breach of the rules on arranging drivers’ return journeys. Tidningen Proffs reported that the driver had not been offered the opportunity to return to Lithuania in connection with two regular weekly rest periods scheduled during the period covered by the inspection.
Under Article 8(8a) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, a transport company must organise a driver’s work so that the driver has the opportunity to return regularly to their place of residence or the company’s operational centre. The fact that a driver did not actually return does not, by itself, prove a violation, since the driver may choose not to use that opportunity. The haulier must nevertheless be able to demonstrate that the option of returning was made available.
€16,400 penalty and vehicle immobilisation
The total sanction for all the violations amounted to 180,000 Swedish kronor, or approximately €16,400. The company was unable to pay the full amount immediately, so Swedish authorities immobilised the vehicle combination.
The immobilisation lasted almost two hours. The lorry was allowed to continue only after the haulier had paid the entire amount due.
Another Lithuanian haulier stopped days earlier
This was the second recent case in which the Västerås road transport inspection group found violations involving the rest arrangements of a driver employed by a Lithuanian company.
Several days earlier, the same group had inspected a driver from Tajikistan who said he had been living in his lorry’s cab since March 2026. In that case, the haulier was fined 80,000 Swedish kronor, or around €7,300
The latest inspection covered more than rest periods and return arrangements. Swedish inspectors also found irregularities in the documents supporting the haulier’s cabotage operations, bringing the total sanction to €16,400.
