Photo: Milan Traffic Police

Driver and haulier punished for lightbulb tachograph hack

A Turkish lorry driver and haulier have both been punished by the Italian police after a detailed inspection found that a tachograph manipulation device had been used.

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The story, covered by Torino Today and Yahoo Italy among others, unfolded during police checks on the evening of Thursday April 21st.

One of the trucks pulled over during the checks, registered in Turkey and with a Turkish driver, had just come off the ferry at the port of Trieste. After examining the tachograph data, the road transport inspectors suspected something was amiss, and decided to investigate further.

The truck was later taken to a special workshop, where a technician confirmed the suspicions of the inspectors. In order to manipulate the vehicle’s tachograph, a sophisticated ‘lightbulb mod’ was used whereby the driver could use a remote control to register rest while his vehicle was in motion.

The driver was subsequently fined 1,732 euros and given 10 points on his licence. He also faces a potential driving ban of up to 3 months.

Meanwhile, his employer is to be fined over 3,300 euros.