12-02-09 Hungarian truck driver jailed after magnet find
Hungarian truck driver Gabor Fuksz has been jailed for 16 weeks after Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) vehicle examiners discovered he had been using a magnet to interfere with tachograph and speed limiter equipment whilst travelling along the A30 in Truro, Cornwall.
It happened during a joint road safety operation between VOSA and Devon and Cornwall police on 29 January 2009.
The 44-tonne arctic truck, which was being operated by Ballykell Freight Ltd of County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was ordered off of the road when police spotted it was travelling at 80 miles per hour.
The magnet had been placed on the gearbox to interfere with the tachograph which records the driver’s hours to ensure he is taking correct brakes and not driving whilst tired. It is also used to disable the speed limiter device which is meant to limit the vehicle to its maximum legal speed of 53 miles per hour.
When stopped, the driver acted suspiciously by climbing behind the cab and sticking his arm near gear-box. VOSA vehicle examiners Allan Stacey and Colin Toy discovered that the driver had removed the magnet from the gear-box and placed it on the underside of the fifth wheel coupling. The two vehicle examiners had both recently attended a VOSA intelligence briefing about the problem of magnets.
Fuksz was arrested and sentenced by Truro Magistrates Court, 30/1/09 to 16 weeks imprisonment and given a 15 month driving ban.
In December VOSA Customer Director Kevin Rooney spoke out about the so called “scam” involving magnets, warning drivers of the risks involved.
“Tired drivers cause accidents and kill people” he said. “I think we are all aware of the devastation that can be caused when a tired driver falls asleep at the wheel. That is why the Drivers’ Hours Regulations are in place.”
He also warned drivers of the penalties they faced.
“I would like to clarify the fact that using a magnet is falsifying a record and carries with it a maximum penalty of £5,000 and 2 years imprisonment, and likely subsequent loss of vocational entitlement when the driver comes in front of the Traffic Commissioner.”
“Depending on how the false record is then used, there may well be further offences under the Counterfeiting & Forgery Act which carry larger penalties for both driver and operator. And where we find a magnet being used, we take the view that the driver has no reliable evidence of having taken any rest periods and apply an immediate 45-hour prohibition.”
For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Luke Bigwood on 0117 954 3208 or Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561. You can also e-mail press@vosa.gov.uk
Examination of underside of the fifth wheel coupling found that the magnet that had previously been placed on the gearbox.
Page last updated: 03/06/2009