On October 25, 2022, with the ruling no. 40187/22, the Supreme Court once again expressed itself on violations concerning the tampering of the tachograph. With the new ruling, it was reiterated, after having done so several times in recent years, that the manipulation of the tachograph constitutes a violation of criminal laws as well, specifically of the art. 437 of the Penal Code.
ART. 437 PENAL CODE
“Anyone who fails to place systems, devices, or signals intended to prevent disasters or accidents at work, or removes or damages them, is punished with imprisonment from six months to five years“.
Police officers, during road checks, have always linked the placement of magnets or other acts aimed at the tampering of the digital tachograph to the letter of the law or to “removal or willful omission of safeguards against workplace accidents”. This interpretation has been deemed correct by the Supreme Court.
THE RULING ON DIGITAL TACHOGRAPH TAMPERING
Specifically, the events at the center of the ruling from October 25 concerned facts that occurred between 2010 and 2013 and involved both the owners of the company and the employees of the same. The Court of Cassation ruled that these tampering actions should be considered as fraudulent actions of “Removal or fraudulent omission of safety measures against workplace accidents” and as such are punishable under the Penal Code. The clear intent was to definitively clarify the matter and increase the preventive scope of the sanctioning system.