A routine roadside inspection in The Hague uncovered a series of serious tachograph violations. A Dutch haulier had gone 841 days without downloading vehicle data, while the driver had used someone else’s card, lacked Code 95 and failed to report his own card missing. The combined administrative penalties could total at least €14,000.
841 days instead of 90: a complete breakdown in company oversight The inspection took place in Bouwlust, a district of The Hague. Dutch authorities regularly detect working-time manipulation, but the technical and compliance failures in this vehicle surprised inspectors. Tachograph memory showed that no data had been downloaded for 841 days – almost two and a half years.
Under guidance from the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014:
- vehicle-unit tachograph data must be read and downloaded into the company’s system at least once every 90 days,
- driver-card data must be downloaded and secured at least once every 28 days,
- the employer must retain downloaded files for at least 12 months – often longer for tax purposes – and provide them whenever authorised authorities request them.
The 90-day download interval is a firm technical limit. Missing it creates a direct risk that the oldest events in the tachograph’s memory will be overwritten. Going more than two years without a download suggested that the carrier had effectively abandoned internal oversight of its drivers’ working time.
Two months without his own driver card During the inspection, the driver claimed he had used the card found in the cab only once because he had forgotten his own.
An electronic check quickly disproved that explanation. Using control cards, enforcement authorities can review tachograph login history going back 365 days. The inspection showed that the driver had not inserted his own card once during the previous eight weeks.
His further claim that he had lost the card three weeks earlier did not help. Instead, it confirmed the violation and exposed a serious breach of EU procedures.
What the rules require after a driver card is lost Under Article 35(2) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014, losing, having a card stolen or damaging it does not permit a driver to use another person’s card or drive under the “out of scope” setting. The procedure requires several specific steps:
Report the loss: the driver must immediately formally report the loss or theft to the competent authority in the country that issued the card.
Apply for a replacement: an application for a replacement card must be submitted within a maximum of seven calendar days.
Limit on driving without a card: the driver may continue driving without the card for no more than 15 calendar days, or longer only where objectively necessary to return the vehicle combination to its operating base.
Printouts are mandatory: for every working day without the card, the driver must produce two daily tachograph printouts:
- Before starting the journey: print the vehicle’s technical data, write down personal details by hand – name, surname, driving licence number or lost-card number – and sign the printout,
- At the end of the shift: complete a daily printout recording driving time, availability and rest periods, add any activities carried out away from the vehicle by hand, and sign the document.
In The Hague, the driver had not reported the loss, applied for a replacement or made any printouts. Using another person’s card was treated as direct falsification of working-time records. The card was confiscated at the scene and sent to Kiwa Register for physical destruction.
45-hour work stoppage and no Code 95 The operational consequences were immediate. Because the driver could not legally document his daily and weekly rest periods from the previous weeks, inspectors ordered him to stop work immediately for 45 hours. The truck was immobilised.
Inspectors also found that he lacked the required professional qualification, known as Code 95. The driver said he did not know what the requirement meant. Since he had been operating a heavy vehicle for hire without the necessary professional qualification, proceedings against both the driver and the employer were referred to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie).
Three parties face fines totalling at least €14,000 Sanction reports were prepared for three parties in connection with the violations:
- The driver: for falsifying tachograph records, using another person’s card and operating without the required professional qualification;
- The carrier or employer: for failing to supervise the driver, allowing an unqualified person without Code 95 to drive and going 841 days without downloading tachograph data;
- The cardholder: for unlawfully making a personal card available to a third party.
Under the Dutch administrative penalty schedule, the combined sanctions will total at least €14,000 (approximately 61,700 Polish zlotys). This does not include any additional fines a court may impose on the driver and carrier in criminal proceedings over the missing professional qualification.
