Driving rules violations, poor vehicles condition found

A total of 182 driving and rest-time violations and 24 tachograph violations were detected during an intensified surveillance last week, said a police press release.

During surveillance took place from October 14 to October 20, police halted journeys of 20 vehicles due to the poor condition of the vehicle, and a total of 91 penalties were issued for such offences.

Penalties were also issued for violations such as the faulty securing of loads (38) and offences related to the driver’s and vehicle’s paperwork (25). In addition, the police apprehended three people without a driver’s licence and eight wanted persons.

“All in all, changes have been minor during the intensified surveillance periods organised in 2019,” Chief Superintendent Kari Onninen from the National Police Board said.

Driving and rest-time violations remained at the same level in relation to the number of inspections, along with the amount of vehicles in poor condition.

According to Onninen, the situation is still alarming even in this regard. This is because in addition to 136 tachograph violations, a total of 712 penalties have been issued just during the surveillance periods.

During the intensified surveillances of 2019, 236 penalties have been given out due to vehicles in poor condition, and the journey has been fully halted for 47 drivers.

In total, 1,318 heavy vehicles, 1,001 of which were of domestic and 317 of foreign origin, were inspected during the operation. A total of 330 various penalties and 190 formal notices were issued to the drivers.

This time, the intensified monitoring was carried out without prior warning. Intensified surveillance was carried out by all police departments.