Mühlhausen Court Fines Haulage Boss €17,000 After Finding 200-Plus Breaches of Driving and Rest Rules
Published on 10/20/2026 at 16:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
A Thuringian haulage operator has been ordered to pay a fine of more than €17,000 after a court found him responsible for over 200 violations of working-time, driving-time and rest-period rules. The ruling against the managing director, whose company is based in the Ilm-Kreis district, was handed down by the district court (Amtsgericht) in Mühlhausen and is not yet legally binding, as tagesschau.de reported on 19 October 2026.
Inspections at the depot and at the roadside
The case traces back to official checks carried out in 2025, which took place both at the company's premises and on vehicles operated by the freight forwarder. Before the matter reached court, the State Office for Consumer Protection had already issued six penalty notices against the business totalling roughly €22,000.
Three of the allegations were dropped during the Mühlhausen proceedings. Even so, the court identified substantial breaches across every area it examined.
Delegating checks does not shift liability
In court, the company head had sought an acquittal, arguing that responsibility for compliance lay with his drivers. According to the firm, the employees concerned received formal warnings and two drivers were dismissed. The managing director also pointed out that he had delegated day-to-day monitoring duties to staff.
The Amtsgericht rejected that defence. Handing oversight to others does not release management from its duty to ensure effective controls operate within the business, the court held; ultimate responsibility for meeting statutory requirements stays with company leadership.
Tachograph software gaps and a language barrier
The court found serious weaknesses in the company's monitoring arrangements. Software used to evaluate tachograph data did not work without gaps and failed to flag every infringement on its own.
Organisational measures fell short as well. German-language posters and notices were not enough, given that a large share of the employed drivers came from Poland. The court classified the operator's conduct as negligent, while noting that similar violations could in future be treated as intentional.
