Evading truckers to be punished for leaving trucks abroad
28 May 2024 16:21
Ukrainian truckers who abandon their trucks abroad and do not return home for fear of being mobilised are to be equated with kidnappers. This was stated by Viktor Balin, vice president of the Association of International Road Carriers, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
“Recently, the number of cases has increased when drivers of international flights, having received a temporary legal right to travel abroad under the Shlyakh system, deliberately do not return, leaving company trucks to fend for themselves. This is how they avoid mobilisation.
This creates significant difficulties for transport companies, as they need to find a new driver to return the truck. In addition, companies whose drivers do not return to Ukraine are blocked in the Shlyakh system, making it impossible to send new trips abroad.
“I think that in the near future we will work out a policy together with the lawyers of our large companies and inform drivers that they will not only have problems with the police, but the situation will be treated as a car theft,”
– Balin said.
According to him, information about such fugitive drivers will be passed to Interpol so that they will not be able to find work abroad.
Balin also warned that due to the problems of international carriers, the number of transportations is decreasing, which could negatively affect exporters and importers, hitting the country’s foreign exchange balance.
He noted that the state currently does not protect against such drivers who leave their vehicles abroad.
“Moreover, the Ministry of Infrastructure has no claims against the driver who left the vehicle abroad, but it has claims against the carriers. And the State Transport Safety Service can exclude the company from the Shlyakh system and block its work altogether,”
– explained the Vice President of the Association of International Road Carriers.
