Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the use of interrupter devices to falsify driving records.

In order to tackle the use of tachograph interrupter devices, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) use a number of initiatives and strategies. During 2013/14 DVSA carried out 91,519 drivers hours and tachograph system checks at the roadside, which resulted in 12,671 prohibitions being issued for detected offences. Out of those offences, 259 interrupter devices were found.

Over the last four years DVSA examiners have identified 998 vehicles where interrupter devices had been used. This resulted in the vehicles’ prohibition and immobilisation, prosecution of the driver and follow up action for the responsible operator. DVSA ensure that they have a constant presence in key strategic locations on the road network and can target high risk vehicles using automatic number place recognition equipment. They have also recently added on-board diagnostic equipment to its suite of enforcement targeting tools, this equipment facilitates electronic interrogation of vehicle electronic control units, which can identify where tachograph interference has taken place, with historic data being available.

Where offences are found at the roadside for UK operators, formal follow-up action is instigated and further investigations are made, often resulting in formal legal action being taken. Vehicles will have their interrupter devices removed at an approved tachograph calibration centre.

Where offences are found at the roadside for foreign operators, fixed penalty notices are issued and vehicles are prohibited and immobilised, their interrupter device will also be removed. Information on these offences is passed to the national enforcement bodies of the vehicles concerned for further action.