A Slovak truck driver completed a round trip from Nitra to Portugal and back — a total distance of 6,520 kilometres — in just five days. Under EU driving-time regulations, the same journey should have taken around ten days. According to inspectors, the driver achieved this only by systematically ignoring mandatory rest requirements, putting both himself and other road users at serious risk.
The case was uncovered by the Czech transport inspection authority INSID, which reconstructed the entire route using data from the vehicle’s smart tachograph.
Thousands of kilometres driven “on paper rest”
The inspection revealed that the driver deliberately manipulated his activity records. For 3,035 kilometres, the tachograph showed the vehicle as being on rest, while it was in fact driving.
By analysing tachograph data alongside vehicle position records, inspectors were able to demonstrate that the route was completed within a timeframe that would have been impossible had the driver complied with mandatory driving breaks and daily rest periods.
Extreme working-time violations
According to INSID’s findings:
- over five consecutive nights, the driver never rested for more than 5 hours and 26 minutes, despite a minimum daily rest requirement of 9 hours;
- before the final day of driving, his rest period lasted just 3 hours and 43 minutes;
- for several days, the vehicle was operated on European roads by a severely fatigued driver, creating a serious road-safety risk.
Carrier held responsible
Under EU regulations, responsibility for compliance with drivers’ working-time rules lies with the transport company rather than the driver alone. In this case, the Czech inspection authority imposed a financial deposit of €6,000 on the carrier.
INSID stressed that the case highlights both the dangers of driver fatigue and the effectiveness of smart tachographs, which make it increasingly difficult to conceal serious infringements of social legislation in road transport.
