A nighttime inspection by inspectors from the Jelenia Góra branch of the Lower Silesian Road Transport Inspection ended with the discovery of a serious violation of regulations governing drivers’ working hours. The man driving a vehicle adapted for transporting long timber admitted that he had used a driver card belonging to a colleague. As he explained, he wanted to reach the loading site faster this way.
The inspection took place during the night from Thursday to Friday, from 27 to 28 August. At around 2:50 a.m., inspectors from the Jelenia Góra branch of the Lower Silesian Road Transport Inspection stopped a vehicle adapted for transporting long timber.
As part of their activities, the inspectors checked, among other things, the data recorded in the digital tachograph. At this stage, the driver admitted that he had used another person’s driver card while carrying out the transport.
The man explained that he had chosen this solution because he wanted to reach the loading site faster. However, the inspectors decided to verify his words thoroughly by analysing both the tachograph memory and the data recorded on the driver card.
The analysis confirmed that a card belonging to another person had indeed been used in the inspected vehicle. The data showed that the other person’s card had been used in the tachograph on 24, 27 and 28 August. It was therefore not a one-time incident.
Using another driver’s card makes it possible to conceal the actual driving time and rest periods. In practice, this may enable drivers to circumvent regulations governing working hours, compliance with which is directly linked to road safety.
In this case, the consequences for the driver were serious. In connection with the violation found, the inspectors confiscated his driving licence for three months.
The inspection did not end there. The driver was also ordered to take the required daily rest period. Only after completing it could he continue his journey.
The company carrying out the road transport will also bear responsibility for the violations identified during the inspection.
Regulations governing drivers’ working hours are intended above all to ensure safety. Circumventing them may lead to a situation in which a driver spends more time behind the wheel than the applicable limits allow, while his body does not have sufficient opportunity to recover.
This is particularly important in the case of professional drivers. Fatigue can reduce concentration, extend reaction time and increase the risk of making a mistake while driving.
The driver of the inspected vehicle primarily wanted to reach the loading site faster. However, the method intended to save him time ended with the loss of his driving licence for three months.
The Lower Silesian Road Transport Inspection reminds drivers that using another person’s driver card is a serious violation of the regulations. Tachograph inspections allow inspectors to check records concerning a driver’s activities and detect cases in which the actual driving or rest time is concealed.
The nighttime inspection in the Jelenia Góra area also shows that an attempt to save time behind the wheel may bring a driver much more serious consequences than arriving late at the loading site.