A Belgian HGV driver was jailed on Tues 28 May for attempting to hide the fact that he had not taken the required rest period before driving again.

Nico Demeyer attached a magnet to interfere with the signal sent to the digital tachograph in the vehicle. As a result the vehicle was recorded as stationary when it was actually on the road.

Demeyer was originally stopped at 9am for a routine check on the A17 at Holdingham by the authorities. The tachograph was showing that the vehicle had not moved since 20:42 the previous day. Demeyer had driven from Stansted Services to make a delivery and started his journey after just five hours rest instead of the legally required nine hours.

Demeyer, said he was trying to finish his deliveries early so that he could get home for the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in Belgium.  He admitted an offence of recording false tachograph information and was jailed for three months at Lincoln Crown Court.

Judge Sean Morris told him: “You told the police that you had done it before. It is quite clear to me that you would have gone on until you got caught.

“These laws exist to protect other road users. People in big, heavy, powerful vehicles who have not had enough sleep are like ticking time bombs. You could have nodded off and drifted into oncoming traffic and no-one would have stood a chance.”