The TSL industry is a real universe where there is so much going on, so to catch up with everything all the time it would require a 24-hour news broadcast. This is why in our cyclical review we try to talk about what is really important; current interesting information, fascinating facts, bombshells and familiarize you with the ongoing legal changes. This week we focus, among others, on a police action which resulted in capturing a gang of thieves stealing cargoes from trucks.
Don’t forget to sign up to e-Toll
A new portal enabling registration of vehicles will be launched in the coming weeks. The vehicles will start using the new tolling system in the upcoming months. The present solution, viaTOLL, will continue to be active until the end of June. Around the same time, the new solution, e-TOLL, will start to operate. For a moment, both systems will operate simultaneously, but ultimately only the latter will remain. Vehicle registration in the new system will be possible from May, and vehicle owners will have relatively little time to comply with the formalities. A huge amount of data will have to be sent to the base in a short period of time – about 1.4 million vehicles are currently registered in the viaTOLL system. The entire procedure can be carried out online – via e-Urząd Skarbowy (the online platform of the Treasury Office) or via the e-Toll Customer Account. As the government’s portal recalls: “e-TOLL is a modern solution based on satellite positioning technology, which will replace the existing viaTOLL system”. Vehicle users with a total weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes will be obliged to register in the system.
Truck robbers got caught
Police officers caught members of a criminal group specialising in truck robbery. Members of the gang were present mainly in the area of the S8 expressway (Białystok-Wrocław), and the purpose of their actions were vehicles stopping in car parks located on this route. Notifications about their thefts kept coming for several months. Their target was, among many, expensive electronic equipment or furniture. Most frequently the criminals were cutting canvas of tarpaulin trailers and repackaging the stolen goods to smaller vehicles. They were captured thanks to a coordinated action of police officers from Sieradz and police officers from other units. The detained perpetrators turned out to be residents of Otwock (aged from 30 to 43 years old). At the request of the prosecutor’s office, they were subject to three months’ detention.
Controversies about the Mobility Package not going quiet
Representatives of the transport industry from several European countries demand changes in the so-called Mobility Package adopted by the European Parliament (it is to enter into force 18 months from the moment of publication). The new regulations are aimed at systematising many issues related to road transport in Europe. However, some adopted provisions are considered controversial. Associations of carriers from our part of Europe (e.g.: Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania) are particularly concerned about the provision under which drivers will be required to return to the base once every eight weeks. Drivers in Belgium and Malta also view this provision sceptically. Critics of the changes, which result from the introduction of all new regulations, notice a number of negative consequences resulting from the new act. These include: increasing bureaucracy, limiting the competitiveness of some entities operating on the market, generating so-called empty mileage, increasing CO2 emissions and further degradation of the natural environment. Many industry representatives are calling for an immediate cancellation of an anticipated order to return to the base every eight weeks. However, there are also opponents of introducing changes to the already adopted provisions. These include Denmark and the Netherlands.
To test or not to test?
The situation in Europe, when it comes to the requirements dictated by the pandemic, which drivers of trucks have to meet, is changing dynamically. We have recently written about the introduction in England of the obligation to perform tests by truck drivers (negative test for the presence of coronavirus at the entrance to the country and then obligation to perform further tests every 72 hours). That rule was to come into force just after Easter holidays, the Great Britain, however, opted for a two-week transition period. During its course, officials will waive imposing penalties and fines on drivers who fail to meet this criterion. It has also been established that drivers will be required to do the test within 48 hours of entering the UK (free of charge at designated points). Drivers whose time of stay won’t exceed this limit won’t have to do tests. The obligation to fill in the locator form before entering the UK remains. Meanwhile, France and the Netherlands are slightly lifting restrictions for drivers arriving from the UK. Those who return to the continent before 48 hours will no longer have to present a negative result for the presence of coronavirus.
Drunk drivers behind the wheels of trucks
Last days have brought a variety of disturbing information about drivers who were driving under the influence. On the S8 route, drivers followed a driver of a MAN vehicle, who drove “on the entire width” of the expressway. His manoeuvres were so erratic that they prevented other road users from making any movements on the road. The driver eventually bounced off the rails and pulled over to the side of the road near Rawa Mazowiecka. Police were called to the scene and concluded that a 28-year-old Ukrainian national had a BAC of about 3 gr/L. On the same road, police also stopped a 44-year-old driver from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Again, the breathalyser test revealed a BAC of about 3 gr/L. The man lost his driving license; he faces a penalty of 2 years in prison. A BAC of approx. 3.5 gr/L was found in a 38-year-old from Sosnówka municipality. Notified by a witness, the police stopped the truck driver on the national road no. 2, near the village of Woroniec (Lubelskie Voivodeship).
New DFDS “Baltic” ferries take shape
Two modern ferries ordered by DFDS, which are built with a view to operate connections on the Baltic Sea, look more and more impressive. The units, which are built by the GSI shipyard (Guangzhou Shipyard International) in China, after completion of all works, will be used to operate connections between Klaipeda in Lithuania and Sweden and Germany. Each of them will dispose of a load line with the length of 4500 meters, and will take 600 passengers on board. Despite the pandemic situation, for the moment no major delays in construction are expected. And this means that works on the first of the ferries will be completed later this summer. After official acceptance procedures, the first unit will set off a long way from China to Europe. The construction of each of 230-metre vessel will consume 900 million Danish kroner (approx. EUR 120 million). Click HERE for more news from the ferry industry.
Sources: gov.pl, Dziennik Łódzki, Euractiv, The Times, PAP, Radio Lublin
