The police carried out intensive enforcement operation of heavy goods transport in co-operation with Customs and the Border Guard

The Finnish police conducted an intensive enforcement operation of heavy goods transport throughout Finland from Monday 27 to Friday 31 October 2025. The enforcement campaign was carried out in co-operation with Customs and the Border Guard (PTR co-operation).

During the intensified control period, a total of 1,052 driving and rest time inspections were carried out, in which 104 driving and rest time violations and 61 tachograph violations were detected. The number of driving and rest time violations was at the same level as before, but the number of tachograph violations increased by a third, which should be considered a worrying trend.

“This time, too, all driving and rest time violations for which a sanction was imposed clearly exceeded the time limits set by law,” says Chief Superintendent Kari Onninen.

A total of 79 road transports of dangerous goods were inspected, and only nine cases were found to be worthy of a sanction. This number was at the same level as in the previous control operations, and the situation can be considered reasonably good.

A total of 132 vehicles were found to be in poor condition, for which a penalty was also imposed. In as many as 33 cases, the transport was interrupted completely. There was a significant increase in the number of these cases as compared to previous control periods. The cases that led to the interruption of transport involved vehicles that were found to have malfunctions that are particularly dangerous to traffic safety, such as significant brake failures. The number of vehicles that are not fit for road use has been increasing during the past few similar enforcement campaigns.

Deficiencies were also found in securing the load (43 cases), and overloads were found in 33 cases.

The enforcement campaign concerning freight traffic was targeted at compliance with driving and rest times, securing the load, the condition of vehicles, and overloads. These issues have been defined as the focal areas of the heavy goods transport control by the police. 

During the enforcement period, a total of 1,374 heavy goods vehicles were inspected, of which 1,131 were Finnish vehicles and 227 were foreign, as well as 16 buses. A total of about 2,800 hours of work time was spent on the surveillance campaign.

A total of 383 monetary penalties (fines or traffic penalty fees) were imposed on the drivers, and 224 written cautions were issued for minor offences. In addition, 172 inspections related to immigration control were carried out. This is also part of the traffic control tasks by the police.