120.000 Violations Marked in Back-To-Back Truck&Bus Action

120.000 Violations Marked At

Back-To-Back Truck&Bus Actions

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14 AUG - Nearly 120.000 violations were registered by police teams across the continent in the two back-to-back ROADPOL Truck&Bus enforcement operations.

The couple of operations were organized in quick succession, namely from 13 to 19 June and from 18 to 24 July. The operations focusing on the control of commercial goods and passenger transport were partaken in by a great number of police forces, some of which elected to join both the editions. In total 19 countries took part in the operation Truck and 16 countries took part in the operation Bus. Twelve countries participated in both operations Truck and nine countries participated in both operations Bus.

Results

The combined results of both editions show that of 427.105 trucks controlled 102.283 were found in any kind of offence. 2.221 of them were grave enough to secure an immediate prohibition of continuing the onward journey until proper condition of vehicle or load was assured. The figures with passenger transport were a little bit more optimistic. 233.892 buses were checked and 16.524 of them were found to be in violation of road safety violations. 130 were grounded until measures were taken for the journey to be safely continued. The complaint rate was 23,95% for freight transport (in February 2022: 30,22%) and 7,06% for buses (in February 2022: 6,31%). For freight traffic, this means that a violation was found in almost 1 in 4 trucks checked.

Rate

“European police officers have a very high standard of training in heavy traffic controls, which is reflected in the high complaint rate. Most of the offences were found in the areas of speed, technical offences, seat belts and other safety restraints and vehicle documents law for buses and in the areas of speed, technical offences, legislation on driving and rest times and tachograph settings”, ROADPOL Operations Working Group Secretary Henk P. Jensen of Dutch Police commented.

Henk JansenOffences

13.714 drivers (trucks 12.588, buses 1.126) offended against Europe-wide valid social regulations, meaning they drove their vehicle for longer than legally allowed without complying the mandatory breaks. 11.662 times (T 10.556 / B 1.106) the prescribed tachographs were not properly managed. Manipulations of digital tachographs were detected in 545 cases. “Fumbling with the settings of the tachograph or even manipulating those takes on larger forms every year. The reason for this type of fraud might be the sustained competitive pressure in this still-growing industry. The financial benefits for transporters may be large, but the risks for road safety are greater. Especially due to driver fatigue, collisions can occur with serious consequences, not only for the driver of the truck or bus himself, but also for other road users”, Jensen stated.

Cooperation

In some countries the checks took place in collaboration with the European Labor Authority (ELA). The ELA ensures that EU rules on labor mobility and social security coordination are enforced in a fair and effective way and makes it easier for citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of the internal market. Beyond deploying its own experts on the spot, ELA coordinates and supports the participation of foreign observers at roadside inspections in other countries. In June for example, Labour Authority experts from Lithuania and Romania visited roadside checks in the Netherlands and exchanged knowledge, skills and information with their Dutch colleagues and police officers.

Substances

1malka 376 drivers were also found taking part in road traffic under the influence of alcohol, as well as 36 drivers under the influence of drugs. “Especially in the field of passenger transport, passengers must be able to rely on the fact that the vehicles are in perfect technical condition and the drivers are not overtired or driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The main causes of serious traffic collisions must be countered by checks on goods traffic and passenger transport. In the months of June and July in which these checks were held, many collisions and other accidents occurred with lorries and buses. These examples prove that road safety cannot be taken for granted. The result of the control weeks and the examples show that inspections in the area of heavy goods traffic and passenger transport are still an important approach to improve traffic safety”, Jensen concluded on the latest ROADPOL enforcement actions.