The DREAL Centre-Val de Loire has carried out a major control operation with the aim of combating fraud in the transport of goods by road. The operation took place on March 30, 2023 and made it possible to check more than 100 vehicles, including 65 heavy goods vehicles. The DREAL mobilized ten land transport controllers and around fifteen gendarmes, including a canine team, at four checkpoints from 3 p.m. to midnight. The controllers noted several offenses of tachograph fraud on vehicles of foreign carriers.
Several situations were noted during the checks, in particular a fraudulent modification of a tachograph. By correlating consignment notes with activity recorded by the tachograph, unrecorded activities were detected. The reconstruction of the actual route of the vehicle made it possible to highlight a failure of 220 kilometers on the recordings. The driver had placed a magnet on the tachograph generator, creating a magnetic field which neutralized the information transmitted by the pulse generator.
The controllers also noted the use of a driver card not belonging to the drivers of a double vehicle crew, which allowed them to hide part of their activity. Finally, a fraudulent modification of a speed limiter was brought to light thanks to the use of sophisticated control tools. A detailed analysis of the speed recordings made it possible to detect abnormal speeds. This control operation by the DREAL Centre-Val de Loire testifies to the importance of the fight against fraud in the transport of goods by road and the need to ensure safety on the roads.