Truck blitz reveals 20% ' bend tachograph rules
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Up to 20% of truck drivers are guilty of tachograph offences, judging by the results of a nationwide clampdown on heavy goods vehicles and their operators.
Of the 5,096 trucks that were checked during the nationwide Operation Mermaid, 983 drivers were said to have committed tachograph offences. Another 159 were accused of 0-licence offences, and a dozen were allegedly committing fuel offences.
Operation Mermaid, involved 36 police forces, Customs and Excise and the Department of Social Security. Immediate prohibitions were served on 401 vehicles; 311 received delayed prohibitions. Another 603 vehi cles were served with defect notices and 28 drivers were arrested.
Chief Inspector John Burt of West Midlands police says there are plans for further nationwide checks: "What we find most worrying is the poor quality of maintenance carried out on many of these vehicles," he says. "There seems to be very little difference in the standards of domestic and international hauliers,"