In a recent judgment (No. 13937 of March 22, 2017, Section I) the Italian Supreme Court has given a ruling which regards the tampering of the tachograph, namely, the device that records driving times and rest periods of drivers, as well as the speed and the kilometers traveled by the vehicle on which it is compulsorily installed.
In the Codice della Strada (the Italian Highway Code) there is already a provision (Article 179) which fines the driver or the holder of the license or of the transport authorization who puts on the road a truck with a tampered or non-working tachograph (or even without it at all).
However, according to the Supreme Court anyone who alters a tachograph can also be indicted under Article 437 of the Italian Criminal Code which punishes whoever “omits to place equipment, devices or signals intended to prevent disasters or accidents at work, or removes or damages them”.
According to the judges, the tachograph is a device intended to guarantee the safety of workers in transport companies, that is the drivers, and also of third parties, such as other drivers on the road who may come into contact with the vehicle with a tampered tachograph.
The Court has established the above, thus confirming the stance it had already expressed in a similar ruling in 2016.
(Bologna Office – Andrea Giardini – 0039 (0)51 2750020)
