The prison sentence that two truck drivers will receive after being caught swapping steering wheels while driving.

During their workdays, Civil Guard Traffic officers often encounter surreal or unusual situations , often constituting crimes . This is the case of a patrol from the Soria Civil Guard, which observed how the driver and passenger in the cab of a trailer swapped positions at the wheel while the vehicle was moving .

The events, which occurred on September 5th at a Civil Guard checkpoint on the N-122 near Villar del Campo (Soria), resulted in the arrest of both truck drivers for alleged falsification of documents and reckless driving. Specifically, the individuals allegedly exchanged their driver cards on the tachograph to avoid taking mandatory breaks and extend their driving periods.

What punishments could befall the two truck drivers?

The Spanish Penal Code stipulates this crime in Chapter II "on documentary falsification" in its first section "on the falsification of public, official and commercial documents and dispatches transmitted by telecommunications services."

Specifically , Article 390 specifies as the perpetrator of the crime anyone who "fakes a document in whole or in part in such a way as to mislead its authenticity." Therefore, Article 392 states that "any individual who commits any of the falsifications described in the first three paragraphs of Section 1 of Article 390 in a public, official, or commercial document shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to three years and a fine of six to twelve months."

Punishment for the crime of reckless driving

Article 380 of the Criminal Code stipulates that "anyone who drives a motor vehicle or moped with manifest recklessness and specifically endangers the life or safety of others shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years and deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for a term of more than one and up to six years." In addition, the two drivers could receive other sanctions for violations of the Transport Law .

What other fines could they face?

Furthermore, the Land Transport Regulation Act and its Regulations consider the behavior of both drivers to be a very serious offense , as they did not have "the corresponding driver record sheet or card inserted in the tachograph, where required, a record sheet inserted without noting the driver's name and surname, or the corresponding record sheets or cards inserted for another driver." For such acts, they could face fines ranging from €2,001 to €6,000.

What other fines could they face?