The police carried out an intensive control operation of heavy vehicle traffic from 6pm on Tuesday 14 until 6pm on Thursday 16 May. All police departments took part in the operation. During the 48-hour operation, 93 driving and rest time violations and 23 tachograph violations were detected.
”All driving and rest time violations for which a sanction was imposed were well above the limits laid down by legislation,” says chief superintendent Kari Onninen.
The aim of monitoring the driving and rest times of vehicle drivers is to prevent a decrease in driver alertness, especially fatigue, and so reduce the risks and accidents caused by impaired alertness.
“A total of 53 sanctions were recorded for vehicle defectiveness, and the journeys of a further 16 vehicles were discontinued due to defects that were particularly hazardous for traffic safety. These were incidents of unroadworthy vehicles,” Onninen says.
In addition, 39 sanctions were issued for improperly secured loads and 24 for overloading.
With regard to goods traffic, enforcement focused particularly on compliance with driving and rest times, securing loads, vehicle condition and overloading, which have been defined as priority areas for police heavy vehicle control. In addition, control of commercial transport is part of efforts to combat the shadow economy.
In conjunction with heavy vehicle traffic enforcement, the legality of foreigners' residence in the country was also monitored. The supervision of foreign nationals is a statutory duty of the police and was also carried out as part of the operation.
During the control operation, the police inspected a total of 1,035 heavy vehicles, 856 or which were Finnish, 166 were non-Finnish and 13 were buses.
A total of 224 sanctions payable were imposed on drivers and a further 170 oral or written admonitions were issued.
Control of heavy vehicle traffic is one of the focus areas of police traffic safety work in 2024 and one of the key impact areas of police traffic safety work.
The campaign was part of a European-wide ROADPOL Operation Truck & Bus enforcement theme.
