Driver identified

Livestock truck had been on the road for three days straight

The two drivers had tampered with the digital tachograph.(Bild: LPD OÖ/Michael Dietrich)

Quite brazen and irresponsible: Two Hungarian truck drivers have now been pulled over in Ansfelden, Upper Austria. The two had severely violated driving and rest time regulations. They had been on the road for three days without a break.

During an inspection of a Hungarian long-haul truck transporting 27 breeding cattle from the Czech Republic to Italy, officers from the State Traffic Department discovered tampering with driving and rest times around 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday in the Ansfelden area.

The semi-truck had been driven by two drivers on several occasions, but only one driver had inserted his driver card into the tachograph each time; the co-driver did not insert his driver card.

Rest periods recorded
When the co-driver subsequently took the wheel, he inserted his driver card into the digital tachograph and manually backdated the rest period for the previous time period during which his driver card had not been inserted, thereby attempting to simulate a valid rest period in the event of a possible inspection. As a result, there were up to three days during which the semi-truck was in continuous operation without both drivers having a valid rest period.

Countless Violations
When the driving activities of both drivers were combined, the primary driver was found to have committed 16 serious violations of driving and rest periods, while the second driver—who only occasionally rode along as a passenger—was found to have committed five serious violations of driving and rest periods. Both drivers were reported to the Linz-Land District Administration, and a security deposit of 6,700 euros was also collected on the spot.

Another Driver Caught
During another inspection around 10:10 p.m. on the A1 near the Eberstalzell exit of a Polish long-haul livestock transport, manipulations of driving and rest periods were also detected. Here, too, the semi-truck had been driven by the same two drivers throughout the entire 57-day inspection period.

On multiple occasions, the two drivers removed their driver cards from the digital tachograph at the loading or unloading site and carried out the loading and unloading activities—as well as the associated trips—without inserting a driver card.

Same Pattern
After reinserting the driver cards, both drivers manually added a rest period to their records in order to feign sufficient rest time in the event of a driver card inspection. As a result, the semi-truck was driven by the two drivers over several days without them observing sufficient rest periods. When the two drivers’ driving activities were combined, one driver appeared to have committed 25 violations—some of them very serious—and the second driver 21 violations—some of them very serious—of driving and rest time regulations.

Truck Was Too Tall
Both drivers were reported to the Wels-Land District Administration; on suspicion of falsifying evidence, both drivers will also be reported to the Wels District Attorney’s Office. During the inspection of the vehicle, officials also noted that the height exceeded the maximum permitted limit of four meters by 25 centimeters and that countless orange lights had been attached to the front of the vehicle.

Due to the numerous violations, a security deposit of 10,150 euros was collected on the spot. Since both drivers were able to demonstrate that they had had sufficient rest time on the day of the inspection, they were allowed to continue their journey to Italy after paying the security deposit.