May once again brought intensified inspections of commercial vehicles across Europe to the forefront. Trucks were targeted for the second time this year as part of the regular Truck&Bus Operation \u2013 a coordinated action of the European Traffic Police Network (ROADPOL). Three such control weeks are organized every year, and among the most frequently detected violations in truck transport are almost always tachograph abuse and manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite increasingly advanced technology and more efficient control methods, tachograph manipulation remains one of the major problems for road freight transport in Europe. Situations uncovered by inspectors across the continent show that even second-generation smart tachographs are not completely immune to fraud: \u201cfalsification\u201d is simply taking new forms. It seems that, alongside the development of new technologies, new methods of bypassing regulations are also evolving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, as fraudsters improve, so do supervisory authorities. The goal is clear: to suppress unfair business practices, which are also extremely dangerous for road safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driving with a magnet is, unfortunately, a concept that has always appeared in inspection reports. Manipulators have used various tricks: placing magnets in the radio frame, near the gearbox, etc., all with the aim of simulating driver rest while the vehicle is in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that was only the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police officers specialized in this field agree that over the past fifteen years, tachograph manipulation techniques have significantly evolved. Initially, simpler forms of abuse (such as using magnets) were most common, but over time more complex methods emerged, including interventions on the hardware itself \u2013 such as installing additional impulse sensors or manipulating existing ones. At the same time, software-based manipulations developed, activated via USB devices or PIN codes. Although the smart tachograph was introduced in June 2019, it has not remained immune to abuse, as cases of hardware manipulation have also been recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to all this, \u201csimple\u201d abuses such as driving without a card or using someone else\u2019s card remain widespread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts agree that second-generation smart tachographs, now mandatory in international truck transport in the EU (and soon in van transport as well), have brought improved security compared to previous models \u2013 although, of course, fraudsters are becoming increasingly \u201csmart.\u201d One notable indirect effect of the Mobility Package in this segment is that the mandatory replacement of version 1 smart tachographs with second-generation devices has effectively removed a portion of manipulated tachographs from vehicles. It is believed that this has significantly reduced their number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA carrier in Croatia fined \u20ac3,000 for manipulation, driver \u20ac900,\u201d \u201cFalsifying tachograph data fined up to \u00a35,000,\u201d \u201cPrison for possession of tachograph manipulation equipment,\u201d \u201cStricter supervision and higher penalties in Sweden\u201d \u2013 such and similar headlines are not uncommon in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Europe is combating tachograph manipulation in an increasingly organized and technologically advanced way, through a combination of synchronized international inspections, stricter penalties, and digital tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although regulations naturally differ from country to country, manipulation is increasingly treated as an organized offense or even a criminal act. This shifts the focus from individual drivers to the broader system, including transport companies, suppliers of fraudulent equipment, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning of the year, a case before a Belgian court attracted particular attention, when two Polish nationals were sentenced to prison. Several years earlier, they had been caught selling equipment for tachograph fraud, which, it later turned out, was used by multiple transport companies. The court concluded that they acted in a coordinated manner, helping companies commit tachograph fraud through the use of USB devices and software, as well as by supplying already manipulated devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to new technologies, remote tachograph reading is considered to have greatly facilitated the targeting of problematic vehicles and their selection for detailed, \u201cmanual\u201d inspections. Although only a pre-selection tool, this method also plays an important deterrent role: when there is a higher chance of detecting fraud, fewer people are willing to engage in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another important step in detecting and sanctioning such violations is the joint activity of control authorities from different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the European Traffic Police Network (ROADPOL) regularly organizes specialized training sessions where police officers and transport inspectors exchange experiences and learn from top experts (so-called masterclasses). These trainings usually combine lectures, demonstrations, and practical exercises, enabling participants to improve their ability to detect manipulation and gain a deeper understanding of tachograph systems. The latest ROADPOL masterclasses were dedicated precisely to detecting fraud involving second-generation smart tachographs \u2013 so that inspectors stay one step ahead of fraudsters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although road freight transport faces pressure from many sides and it is not easy today to remain competitive, manipulation and abuse of tachographs must not be a way of competing on the market. Falsifying data on driving and rest times is extremely dangerous for all road users: it does not save time, but seriously endangers road safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From magnets to software \u2013 over the past years, fraud techniques have unfortunately evolved significantly. On the other hand, even the \u201csimplest\u201d ones, such as driving with someone else\u2019s card, remain popular.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":154399094,"featured_media":19176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1589,1417,1588,1586,1587,1585,1591,1590,1593,1592],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bg_only","category-blogs","category-cz_only","category-de_only","category-es_only","category-pl_only","category-ro_only","category-rs_only","category-si_only","category-sk_only"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154399094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19178,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19175\/revisions\/19178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invoitix.com\/hu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}