EUROPEAN TRANSPORT INSPECTIONS FOR IMPROVED ROAD SAFETY

This week, the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) has organised European inspection week. From 18 to 24 February, the police will be carrying out heavy goods traffic inspections throughout Europe. The inspections will focus on driving times and rest periods, the technical state of trucks and cargo securing.

DRIVING TIMES AND REST PERIODS

This week of inspections will focus on the physical condition of the driver and will be based on the principle that only people who are fit and well-equipped are safe to be on the road. Therefore efficient checks on mandatory driving times and rest periods are an extremely important part of this.

CHECKS ON CARGO SECURING

During this week, checks will also be carried out in order to establish whether cargo has been secured properly. The aim of doing this is to reduce the number of road accidents. As you may know, the cargo securing requirements differ from country to country. For that reason, the EU produced a manual and a handy checklist containing the basic rules which apply to cargo securing.

OTHER TRANSPORT INSPECTIONS

Besides the above-mentioned violations, truck drivers will also be checked to make sure that they are wearing a seatbelt and not using a mobile phone while driving. According to research carried out by ANWB, the Dutch Traffic Safety Association and the Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV), a lot of accidents happen as a result of the driver using a mobile phone while driving.

In particular, truck drivers who use apps on their phone while driving remain high on the agenda of the police. The height of the cabs makes this difficult to check. For that reason, the police regularly use coaches so that they can look into cabs.