Transport Inspections at the Company: What They Check and How to Prepare

Transport inspections at the company represent one of the greatest financial and legal risks for professional fleets. Unlike a roadside check, these ex-officio inspections allow the administration to analyze months of activity, detect non-compliance patterns, and evaluate the company's actual diligence in the custody and analysis of tachograph data.

Many very serious sanctions do not originate from a specific driving infringement, but from deficient internal management of data, the loss of .DDD files, or the absence of preventive controls. In this technical guide, we explain what the inspection reviews, what documentation is required, and how to avoid the loss of corporate good standing (honorability).

What is a transport inspection at the company?

It is an administrative action, often linked to the Road Transport Inspection Plan, in which activity records, work organization, and compliance with driving and rest times are audited over a prolonged period.

While roadside checks review the last 28 days (56 days following the full implementation of the Mobility Package), at the company headquarters, the authority can require up to 12 months of complete activity.

Legal Framework and Sanctioning Regime

Inspections are based on a strict legal framework that affects both road safety and unfair competition:

• Regulation (EC) 561/2006: The pillar for driving and rest times.
• Regulation (EU) 165/2014: Regulates the technical requirements of digital and smart tachographs.
• LOTT and ROTT: Define sanctions in Spain, which can reach €4,001 for very serious infringements.
• ROTT 2026: The future regulation that will reinforce the digitalization of fleet control.

What documentation is mandatory to present?

Faced with a request from the Transport Inspection, the company must provide the following in an organized and immediate manner:

• Data files: .DDD files for drivers and .TGD files for vehicles.
• Proof of activity: Certificates of activity for periods where no records appear on the tachograph.
• Download records: Evidence that downloads were performed within legal deadlines (28 days for drivers / 90 days for vehicles).
• Labor documentation: Employment contracts and workday records, especially in cases of exemption or driving without a tachograph.

Errors that "trigger" fines

The massive data analysis performed by the administration looks for systematic inconsistencies:

• Driving without a card: Vehicle movements not justified by any driver.
• Lack of border crossing records: Failure to manually record country crossings, a key point under the new regulations.
• Activity overlaps: The same driver appearing in two vehicles simultaneously.
• Manipulation: Detection of sensor errors or attempts to block the tachograph signal.

Proactive Preparation: Using Control Tools

The best defense against an inspector is to demonstrate that the company has a preventive control system. It is not enough to simply download the data; it must be analyzed.

By using a Professional Tachograph App, managers can receive real-time alerts about driving excesses, allowing them to correct driver behavior before the infringement is consolidated in the 12-month record.

How TachoTools Helps in an Inspection

TachoTools acts as a "pre-inspector." By uploading your tachograph files to our platform, you obtain:

• Complete audit: Identification of infringements using the same algorithms used by the administration.
• Correction reports: Technical documentation to appeal or justify recording errors.
• Deadline control: Automatic alerts to ensure no download falls outside legal limits.

Conclusion: From Fear to Compliance

A transport inspection at the company should not be a cause for panic if a culture of digital compliance exists. The key is not the absence of errors, but the company's ability to demonstrate that it monitors, trains, and corrects its workers in accordance with the LOTT.