HGVs: Widespread tachograph manipulation detected in Germany; Belgium fights overloading

One in four lorries checked on German roads last year showed signs of tachograph manipulation according to a report published by the German transport ministry in September.

22,000 trucks were checked specifically for the tachograph records, with issues detected on 5533 vehicles. Experts cited by DPA, the German news agency, suggested that tachograph software could be hacked. But the Federal Office of Goods Transport (BAG) did not specify how the devices had been altered.

In Belgium’s Wallonia region, new dynamic weighing systems are helping to tackle the problem of overloading.  Lorries are now pre-selected for weight testing by weighbridges that allow vehicles to be checked while in motion.  In nine out of ten cases, overloading was proven to be the case once a follow-up check had been performed by police.   Out of the 2,223 lorries checked so far this year, almost a third (28.3%) were found to be overloaded.  The practice is dangerous as it increases braking distance and overloaded lorries create more destruction when they crash.