The Spanish authorities are taking a tougher approach to transport fraud, especially in the area of manipulating drivers’ working hours. In the course of the first action, the gendarmerie detained 38 people employed in transport companies, now 26 more are detained. All face severe sentences.
For several months now, a law has been in effect in Spain, according to which the manipulation of drivers’ working hours is considered a form of document forgery, which is punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a one-year suspension from the profession, both for the driver and the carrier.
Until now, violations of this type were only a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of 500 euros and 6 penalty points for the driver and a fine of 4,001 euros for the employer.
The Spanish services apply the new law, as evidenced by the case of the detention of 26 transporters and drivers in the provinces of Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Cantabria, Ciudad Real, Huelva and Córdoba. Detainees face trial and, most likely, harsh sentences. In some cases, things are very serious, because tachograph switches were found in several trucks of the same company.
The detentions were carried out as part of the second “Pantaco” operation.
In Spain, forgery of documents is subject to criminal penalties.
Imprisonment for someone else’s tachograph card and using a magnet
In June, a Spanish court in Tarragona ruled in the driver’s case that he manipulated working hours, in which the driver used someone else’s card, a crime because the man had committed “forgery of documents.” This is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years and a 12-month suspension from the profession
Another very significant verdict was handed down on January 22. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of a driver who manipulated the tachograph with the help of a magnet.
In this regard, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court sentenced him to six months of imprisonment and payment of a fine of 1,080 euros.
Джерело: https://trans.info/ru/