Frederic Martin, ROADPOL – Driving with Another Driver’s Card Remains a Very “Popular” Offense

If you ask truck drivers, the Belgian police are considered some of the strictest in Europe, known for their thorough inspections, rigorous protocols – and hefty fines.

The editorial team of PlutonLogistics had the opportunity to discuss road traffic control with Chief Inspector Frederic Martin from Belgium, the national coordinator for tachograph manipulation at the Belgian police.

Frederic is also a trainer and a member of the Tachograph Working Group of the European Roads Policing Network (ROADPOL), which organizes training sessions for police officers from other countries. During these sessions, participants become familiar with the technical specifications of the devices and legal regulations, while real-world case studies help them learn strategies for detecting and verifying manipulations. Traffic police officers from Serbia also participate in these seminars.

PL: What is, in your opinion, the most striking case of tachograph manipulation you have ever heard of or personally helped uncover? How was the case resolved?

– It was software manipulation of the generation 1 digital tachograph that has been on the market since 2016. It started with activation via a USB pendrive and afterward, they switched to activation using a PIN code. Due to a good investigation in Belgium and a good collaboration with the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland, the members of the criminal organization behind this manipulation could be arrested.

They were based in Poland. However, due to good exchange and collaboration, they were stopped in 2020. As a result of this collaboration, thousands of “infected” trucks have been detected across Europe. Several cases have been detected in each European Member State. Drivers and companies have received very heavy fines, together with an order to install a new legal tachograph. This investigation has demonstrated the importance of cooperation between ROADPOL member states in combating criminal organizations.

PL: How have tachograph fraud techniques evolved over the past ten years? What used to be common, and what is currently in trend among offenders? What new patterns of behavior are you observing?

– Over the last 15 years, we have seen a quite large evolution in the manipulation of the digital tachograph. Everything started with the use of magnets, driving with someone else’s driver’s card or without one, all the way up to the hardware manipulation – where a second impulse sensor was installed or where the paired sensor was manipulated inside. The hardware manipulation was followed by software manipulations, activated by pendrive or pincode. In June 2019 the smart tachograph started and hardware manipulations have been detected there as well.

Driving without a driver’s card or with the driver’s card of somebody else is also still very popular in relation to smart tachographs.

PL: Second-generation smart tachographs are currently at the forefront of the transport industry. While they provide more control to enforcement authorities, do they also offer more opportunities for fraudsters to circumvent the regulations?

– New technologies are always more secure against manipulation than previous models. However, through the years, technically skilled experts will always succeed in defeating such technical developments, and this is not only the case with tachographs.

I would like to point out that another important step was the mandatory replacement of Generation 1 tachographs with Generation 2 tachographs. This measure indirectly meant that technically manipulated tachographs had to be replaced by new, compliant devices. The number of manipulated tachographs has thus been significantly reduced.

PL: How helpful is remote tachograph checking in roadside inspections increasingly carried out across Europe? Are there any downsides to this approach?

– The main advantage of remote early detection – also known as remote communication or DSRC – with the SMT2, is that enforcement authorities can read certain relevant data wirelessly while a vehicle is still in motion – without having to stop it.

Authorities can check from a distance whether there are any signs of offenses on driving times or tampering attempts. Only suspicious vehicles need to be stopped, those that are in order can be allowed to continue their journey. This reduces the workload for enforcement authorities and the burden on law-abiding drivers. Finally, deterrence is increased as tampering can be detected more quickly, and the risk of being caught increases, which encourages compliance.

There are no disadvantages, but it is important to understand that this function is only a pre-selection tool.

Of course, if no suspicious signs are detected, this does not mean that the vehicle cannot be stopped based on other clues.

PL: Which European country has the strictest penalties for tachograph manipulation? Does ROADPOL have any statistics on the number of fraud cases detected per country?

– The penalties are quite different. In some places, they are administrative offenses, in others – criminal acts. In Germany, for example, the installation of a technical device, without active use, is punishable by a fine of up to 15,000 euros for the company. In the event of a repeat offense, the fine is 30,000 euros.

If a driver actively uses the installed device or manipulation tool, it is a criminal act.

Combating tachograph manipulation is important for road safety and unfair competition between transport companies. As for centralized statistics, data is collected only within the three annual ‘Truck and Bus Action weeks,’ carried out by ROADPOL.

PL: What activities does ROADPOL carry out to help police officers and road traffic inspectors stay up to date with new technologies and improve their work?

– ROADPOL organizes seminars on tachograph manipulation together with the Organisation of Euro Controle Route – ECR EGTC, where the newest information on manipulation is shared between European experts from police and inspectorates. Also, we provide training on demand for our member countries. We have two trainers – Sven Kilian from the German Police and myself. We have a good collaboration with the European Labor Authority – ELA, the Corte organization (cf. Confederation of Organisations in Road Transport Enforcement). Also, we are members or observers in specific expert and working groups hosted by the European Commission.

During the seminar, participants are trained on the technical specifications of the Generation 1 and 2 digital tachographs by taking a closer look at the legislation and technical data. Also, they are trained in techniques and strategies for detecting and proving manipulations through analysis of real cases.

PL: Have there been any participants from Serbia so far?

– So far, a few participants from Serbia have attended the seminars. In 2024, two police officers from Serbia participated in a roadside check in Belgium as part of cooperation with ROADPOL. They had the opportunity to exchange best practices on truck checks and the chance to meet and talk to our trainers about tachograph manipulations.