Tampering with tachographs never pays. It often results in a horrendous traffic fine in Western Europe. As the Dutch carrier’s story tells us, the consequences of fraud can be even more drastic than a financial penalty.
The Rotterdam carrier will suffer serious consequences due to the alleged manipulation of the tachograph. There are currently two ongoing investigations carried out. On 2 October 2019, the prosecutor’s office imposed an interim measure on the transport company from the Rotterdam region, under which all trucks (i.e. several dozen vehicles) belonging to the company are banned from public roads traffic.
In the meantime, all the trucks will be thoroughly inspected. They will only be put into service if the entrepreneur can prove to the prosecution that each vehicle meets the legal requirements. It is not known how long the interim measure will remain in force. However, if a company violates the prosecutor’s office decision, it will face fraud charges in court.
The investigations are carried out by the Dutch Environmental and Transport Inspectorate officers (ILT) and the national police force — reports transport-online.nl, the Dutch transport portal. The transport company’s seat was searched during the first investigation. Several tampered tachographs with accessories and trucks with manipulated tachographs were found. During the second investigation and search, suspicious software was found on the premises, which was most likely used to manipulate working time recording devices.
Photo: Trans.INFO