In a special control operation conducted last week, with a focus on heavy traffic, the police detected 280 violations of driving times and rest periods plus 68 tachograph offences. The journey of four vehicles was completely interrupted due to the poor condition of the vehicle and a total of 80 penalties were issued for such offences.
Penalties were also issued for various issues such as the faulty securing of loads (53), offences related to the driver’s and the vehicle’s paperwork (53) and overloading (34).
“Compared to a special control operation conducted at the same time in 2016, there was a turn for the worse in safety equipment offences, for example: 13 offences last year, 34 now,” says Chief Superintendent Kari Onninen of the National Police Board.
According to Onninen, the condition of the vehicles was more defective than before. However, in this respect, the situation had not deteriorated as rapidly as last year.
Fewer penalties than last year were issued for the inadequate securing of loads.
The police conducted a special control operation with a focus on heavy traffic last week, 13–19 February 2017, throughout Finland. All police departments in Finland took part in the operation.
The aim of the operation was to improve road safety and combat crime associated with the shadow economy. The control operation had a particular focus on compliance with regulations related to driving hours and rest periods, driver distractions and the securing of loads.
In all, 2,189 heavy vehicles, 1,922 of which were of domestic and 267 of foreign origin, were inspected during the operation. A total of 653 penalties and 371 formal notices were issued to the drivers.
