Police in European Union countries have begun issuing fines to drivers of vans and the companies that own them following the new requirement for light commercial vehicles used in international operations to run with tachographs.
After the new rules were introduced on July 1, German police found three vans that had no tachograph installed during a recent joint inspection near Kirchheim on the A7 autobahn. Each of the drivers were fined, and all three vehicles were prevented from continuing their work until the non-compliance was resolved.
The new requirement applies to vehicles and vehicle combinations with a permissible gross vehicle weight of over 2.5 tons and up to 3.5 tons when they are used for commercial international transport of goods or cabotage. Penalties for not having the required tachograph vary by country and include heavy fines for the driver and the company. For example, in Belgium there is a fixed fine of €2,640, and €4,400 in the Netherlands. France has one of the strictest penalties, with a fine of up to €30,000, up to one year in prison, and immediate seizure of the vehicle.
IAM Member Impact: The news of strict enforcement of the rules will be welcomed by professional movers who are already tachograph compliant, as they gain competitive parity with van operations on intra-European moves.
Source: trans.iNFO