Bavarian report on frontier contr.
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THE BAVARIAN special controls on the border were made not only as a contribution towards road safety and for the sake of the health of lorry and coach drivers, but also to equalize competition between hauliers and between German hauliers and those from other countries.
This is made clear in the official report by the Bavarian Labour Ministry (Arbeit und Sozialordnung).
The Germans wish not only to improve road safety within their borders, but also do not see why their hauliers should face competition from some firms, notably in the Balkans, whose drivers work double the permitted EEC hours. And the Russians have been offering low haulage rates from place to place within Germany.
The results showed that 15,182 vehicles were stopped in four lots of special checks at various border posts during June and July. Out of these the records of 6,651 (43.8 per cent and 10 per cent more than during similar checks last year) showed some irregularity.
Three hundred and eightysix vehicles were prevented from continuing their journey, at least till their drivers had taken a rest: this is 2.5 per cent (1977 figure was 1.5 per cent). Of these 99 were German vehicles, 155 from other EEC countries, and 132 from nonEEC countries.
The percentage of German vehicles with records revealing some irregularity was 35.6 (2,163 vehicles out of 6,084 checked); other EEC countries 55.5 per cent (2.189 out of 3.943 vehicles checked): and non-EEC countries 44.6 per cent (2,299 out of 5,155 vehicles checked).
The report gives a number of examples of cases uncov ered by the checks. example, the driver of a loaded coach from Ana reached Schwarzbach almost 30 hours, taking breaks of less than 15 min The Turkish driver was ered to take eight hours ri Drivers, says the report, many excuses for excee their hours, such as: too r hours driving are requirE employers; their daily periods are shortened; the in danger of losing their they are not given tachoE discs: proof of their dr time is not required at h and loads have to be deli, to a customer by a ce time.
Lorry and coach dr and motorists should be says the report that "H protection and security priority". Leaflets in ea nine languages are to be to drivers in order to s the message.