Tampering with evidence
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The introduction of digital tachographs has not put an end to the crime of tacho fiddling, so tougher deterrents are now necessary.
IT IS AN UNFORTUNATE reality that a small minority of rogue truck drivers continue to try to get round the drivers' hours rules by tampering with their tachos.
In the past. drivers would pull the fuse on the analogue tacho or even tamper with the recordingdevice itself However, the introduction of digital tachos was meant to usher in a new era of tamperproof devices Not so. drivers bent on breaking the law have continued to find ways to do so. not least through the use of magnets. In practical terms. a magnet disrupts signal into the unit, which enables drivers to hide details of hours they have driven.
Examination James Firth. head of road freight and enforcement policy at the Freight Transport Association (FTA), believes "more must be done" to crack down on the practice of tachograph tampering and the process needs to he made "much harder, if not impossible" • He says: "Tougher consequences will help to deter magnet cheats , but sadly, there will always he a minority of drivers wanting to chance the law, regardless of the penalties they face" Europe is belatedly acting on the is sue: the I l Enforcement Directive (2009). requires enforcement officials across Europe to examine vehicles for evidence of tampering.
Firth adds that the situation will also eventually improve with the introduction soon of new technology that will effectively -build in" a second source of speed tracing.
"The ETA has been working closely with Whitehall and Brussels to exert further influence over the development of the next generation of digital tachographs ensuring that they will offer safety, security and. crucially. that flexibility is built into the final specifications so industry can keep one step ahead of rogue operators.he explains.
"After all, nobody predicted that digital tachographs could be so easily
corrupted by a simple magnet."
Geoff Dunning, Road Haulage Association chief executive, says tachograph meddling creates a real danger to other road users and puts reputable firms at a disadvantage:"It is quite rare for British drivers to use magnets. However, the consequences are severe for both the driver, who is likely to lose his vocational licence, and in all likelihood for the em ployer. which may lose its licence to operate trucks. In short, they may both be put out of the industry.
Figures from the Central Motorway Police Group show that 30% of non-UK registered trucks mainly from Eastern Europe subjected to targeted checks in the first quarter of this year were found to be using a magnet.
In October 2009. Moldovan truck driver Ivan Kayryak pleaded guilty at Rochdale Magistrates Court to knowingly falsifying digitally recorded data.
The court was told that the 40-tonne ache, operated by Romania-based Avis Tran and driven by Kayryak.was stopped VOSA officers at the junction of the A627M and the M62 in Lancashire.
Analysis of data from the vehicle's digital tachograph revealed no driving being recorded at the time the vehicle entered the check site. VOSA examiners found a magnet attached to the sender unit at the gearbox. and police later arrested Kayryak on suspicion of falsifying digital data. He was ordered to pay a £100 fine, prosecution costs of £85 and a £15 victim surcharge.
According to Dunning, the penalties for tachograph fiddling for foreign transport firms are "nothing like adequate'..
He says: -The situation is very different in respect or drivers from abroad. It is common for such foreign drivers to get away with a /200 fixed penalty, imposed at the roadside for the lesser offence of failing to keep a record.
"This is an inadequate deterrent.he adds. -"Even if the driver is brought to court and found guilty, the penalty from magistrates is often woefully inadequate for such a serious offence.
Speed Limiters
In addition to tampering with a tacho, a magnet can be used to disable a speed limiter device, which is meant to limit the vehicle to the legal maximum of 56mph.
In January 2009. at Truro Magistrates Court, Hungarian truck driver Gabor Fuksz was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and given a 15-month driving ban for dangerous driving and tachograph-alteration offences. Earlier that month, VOSA and Devon and Cornwall Police had ordered Fuksz off the A30 in Truro after he was spotted travelling at 80mph.
Vehicle examiners then discovered he had been using a magnet to interfere with tacho and speed limiter equipment. According to VOSA. Fuksz had -acted suspiciously" during the check by sticking his arm near the gearbox in the 44-tonne artic, which was being operated by Co Armagh. Northern Irelandbased Ballykcel Freight, Dunning says many incidents of tachograph falsification involving overseas drivers do not end up in the courts: "We are urging VOSA and the police to take the driver to court as a matter of course when there is evidence that he has used a magnet: and for the courts to then impose a heavy fine and instant disqualification of the driver if he is guilty, "We need to send an unequivocal message to foreign drivers and their employers that the use of magnets to cheat the drivers' hours rules will not be tolerated in the UK.