The incident took place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday (5–6 August). Inspectors from the Jelenia Góra branch of the Road Transport Inspection conducted an operation focused on checking compliance with regulations concerning drivers’ working hours.
At approximately 4:40 a.m., a vehicle transporting food products was stopped for inspection. While the data was being downloaded from the digital tachograph, the driver admitted that he was using a driver card belonging to another person.
As he explained, he had taken this step because he wanted to reach the unloading site faster.
The inspectors analysed the data stored in the digital tachograph and on the driver card. Their findings showed that the other person’s card had been inserted into the tachograph on 5 August at 7:48 p.m. and remained in use continuously until the vehicle was stopped for inspection.
The consequences were immediate. Because he had used a driver card belonging to another person, the officers suspended the driver’s licence for three months. The man was also required to take the prescribed daily rest period.
The carrier carrying out the road transport and the person managing the transport will also be held responsible for the violations identified.
The Lower Silesian Road Transport Inspection emphasises that this is another case uncovered this year in which the use of someone else’s driver card resulted in the suspension of a driving licence.
A driver card is a document assigned exclusively to one person and is used to record driving time, breaks and rest periods. Using a card belonging to another driver is a serious breach of regulations and may result not only in the loss of a driving licence, but also in financial consequences for the carrier and the person managing the transport.