By Roberto Sgalla, Central Director of Specialty STATE POLICE
Regulations in respect of driving and rest hours as well as the correct use of digital tachograph. Administrative checks. In such a competitive field, the price is a decisive factor that can push companies to try to find expedients that are not always compliant with the law. The Police exerts a constant transport control activity in order to ensure law application and full compliance with the social rules in the field of road transport. Logistics and freight transport are growing very fast in Europe and in our country and institutional commitment is essential to respecting and sustaining universal, transparent rules. Trucking companies need to be more virtuous and efficient in their action; for this reason, regularity checks have been implemented on both Italian and foreign carriers. The Traffic Police has at its disposal sophisticated equipments for tachoghraph data control: in the first half of this year, 155.792 good transport vehicles have been inspected in 1.748.021 working days, which lead to a total of 38.423 violations. The majority is related to non-compliance with the provisions concerning driving and resting hours, but also to drunk and drug driving. Regulation nr. 799/2016, providing that new control devices installed shall be equipped with remote communication systems, could enter in force in 2019. Police bodies will, then, interact with the tachigraph so that they will promptly reveal any suspect behaviour of the driver. A recent phenomenon consists in the resort to violent actions, use of weapons and truck drivers kidnapping to steal transported goods. The most common “modus operandi” consist in intrusions (tarp cutting, rear door opening), road blocks, fake police checks. In addition, the socalled “Rumenian roll” approach – robbery of moving vehicles with the help of acrobatic techniques- and, of course, the use of Jammer and other electronic devices. That is why satellite telematics, Black Box and other similar electronic device become crucial in the adequate prevention of Cargo Crime.