Hungarian truck driver jailed after being stopped at Truro (From This is The West Country)

Hungarian truck driver jailed after being stopped at Truro

10:20am Friday 13th February 2009 in Cornwall

A Hungarian truck driver has been jailed for 16 weeks after vehicle examiners discovered he had been using a magnet to interfere with his lorry’s equipment whilst travelling along the A30 in Truro.

Examiners from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) found Gabor Fuksz had been interfering with tachograph and speed limiter equipment.

It happened during a joint road safety operation between VOSA and Devon and Cornwall police on January 29 this year.

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 breaks and not driving while 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 climbed behind the cab and stuck his arm near the gearbox.

VOSA vehicle examiners Allan Stacey and Colin Toy discovered that the driver had removed the magnet from the gearbox 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 later sentenced by magistrates in Truro on January 30. He was given 16 weeks imprisonment and a 15-month driving ban.

Just a month earlier VOSA customer director Kevin Rooney had spoken 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 two 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 and 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.”