Typical case with Belarusian wood in cold storage – “sure” check on S8

A white DAF with Lithuanian license plates, the Kyrgyz flag behind the windshield, exposed fuel tanks and a refrigerated semi-trailer – it would be difficult to get more “certainty” of control. Once the truck was pulled over, it soon turned out that the stereotypes were true…

The inspection took place last Wednesday, in Rzędziany near Białystok, on the S8 motorway. As it turned out, the Lithuanian group was being transported from Belarus to the Netherlands, carrying not quite cooled cargo in the refrigerator in the form of firewood. The DAF itself could also be described as uncooled, as it turned out to be a truck tractor with very large fuel tanks. So when combined with a cold store, which also had its own storage tank for aggregates, the total capacity of the “boilers” exceeded 1,500 liters, contravening the regulations for the transport of hazardous materials.

Another problem was the weight of the entire group. Even a preliminary examination of the documents led to the suspicion that the firewood was too heavy for this vehicle. When the truck was placed on the scales, it showed a total of 46.25 tons on five axles, 6.25 tons too much. And as if all this weren’t enough, it was revealed that the driver clearly breached the weekly rest regulations. The weekend of work was shortened by 19 hours and 6 minutes, and at the same time the weekly working time was extended by the equivalent of about two hours.

The total value of the violations for which the carrier would now be liable was PLN 21.5 thousand. zlotys. Another 2000 driver was awarded a golden ticket. Some lumber had to be removed from the trailer before continuing on the road, and the company had to organize a replacement tractor with smaller tanks.

Here is WITD Biaystok’s announcement:

An overloaded truck exceeding the maximum fuel tank capacity was detected by Podlaskie Road Transport Inspection Inspectors. Finding irregularities leads to liability of the inspected carrier, against which up to three administrative actions are initiated to impose fines.

On Wednesday (29.03) on the S8 highway near Rzedziany, Podlasie inspectors picked up a tractor with a semi-trailer for inspection. The Lithuanian transport company carried out international road transportation of divisible goods – firewood on the Belarusian-Holland route.

A preliminary analysis of the documents submitted for inspection raised suspicions that the norms regarding the permissible total mass of the inspected train with cargo were exceeded. These suspicions were confirmed by measuring at the weighing station, where the actual total weight of the truck was obtained with a load of 46.25 tons, or 6.25 tons above the permissible value.

In addition, the technical inspection of the truck tractor with the semi-trailer revealed the presence of 3 fuel tanks with a total capacity exceeding the maximum specified in the ADR agreement. In the controlled period, the driver shortened normal weekly rest by 19 hours 16 minutes and exceeded the permitted weekly driving time by 1 hour 57 minutes.

The results of the inspection resulted in the initiation of three administrative proceedings regarding the imposition of fines on the entity carrying out the road transport in the total amount of PLN 21,550.

The driver was punished with two fines totaling 2,000 PLN, which were settled at the inspection site.

The truck is brought and installed in a guarded parking lot until all deposits for administrative penalties have been paid by the entity performing the transportation and unloading of the overload to a country compliant with applicable regulations.
The journey will be able to continue after the aforementioned reasons have disappeared.