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Dutch drivers use magnets to commit digitach fraud
Page 10
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A union member in Holland faced the sack after refusing to use a magnet to exceed working hours.
By Tim de Jong THE DUTCH transport business is in turmoil following a TV programme alleging how easily a digital tachograph can be overridden, allowing a driver to work for as long as they want and do as many miles as they like.
Using a magnet at a certain point on the driveline will, it is claimed, disrupt the signal from the speed sensor, which registers that the truck is moving. As a result, miles are no longer recorded.
In Holland, the situation was made public by a union after one of its members faced being sacked for refusing to use a magnet. The union suggested that digitach fraud was widely practised.
So are digitachs that easy to manipulate? Apparently it depends on the power of the magnet and the make of truck.
There is a possibility that on trucks equipped with a ZF ASTronic gearbox, such as Dal's, MANs and Ivecos,the transmission may fail to operate correctly in automatic mode — with a chance that the gearbox might shift itself back to first gear.
Mercedes-Benz uses the same sensor in its ZF gearboxes. Stoneridge works with the same sensor as VDO, and is increasing its market share at present as it is becoming a main supplier to Daf.
When a very strong magnet is used, it is believed that other dangers may occur — the truck could lose its ABS signal or put the parking brake on, or the engine
management system could run an emergency programme and only release half of its possible power. In any case, the driver sees a red warning light in their display.
A Volvo spokesman says drivers who intend to use a magnet should think twice: "They have no idea of what can go wrong. No one thinks of the fading ABS signal, or of the vehicle's maintenance schedule."
The constricting Working Time Directive (WTD) and the rigid measurements of the digitach are two of the main motivations for some drivers to resort to fraud.
However, almost all the officials CM spoke to say that the use of magnets is not as widespread in Holland as the union suggests.
But it is not hard to imagine a driver using one to shunt his truck 100 yards to facilitate unloading and not interrupt his rest period, which could lead to a fine.
In Holland, the current situation is seen as an opportunity not only to change the digitach, but also the WTD. That could also prevent drivers being tempted into using a magnet. •