Up to six in every 10 lorry drivers are breaking regulations governing how long they can drive between rest periods, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Preliminary data from RSA road haulage enforcement checkpoints shows that the majority of drivers are not complying with new EU laws governing commercial drivers.
The European laws, adopted by Ireland in May 2006, require drivers of goods vehicles and buses to produce tachograph records of their driving hours for the current week and the pervious 15 days.
The amount of time a driver spends behind the wheel is measured by a digital tachograph, which also records details of breaks and rest periods.
Drivers who fail to comply with the regulations or to keep accurate tachograph readings face a fine of up to €5,000 and or six months in jail. The offence does not attract penalty points.
Employers face the same punishment for failing to organise their driver's work properly or keep detailed records of all their drivers.
Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA said: "Drivers must keep tachograph records of their driving hours to make sure that they are not breaking the driver hour rules on driving times and rest periods.
"Driving for long periods without proper rest is linked to driver fatigue, which is estimated to be a contributory factor in about 20 per cent of road crashes in Ireland. Put simply, a tired truck driver behind the wheel of 40 tonnes of metal or a tired bus driver with up to 50 passengers on board is a high risk on our roads," he said.
There are 190,000 commercial vehicles in the State and roughly 16,000 drivers with a HGV licence.
Jimmy Quinn, Communications Officer, Irish Road Haulage Association, said while the electronic tachographs offer a foolproof way of maintaining driving records, "technical errors" were occurring as drivers become accustomed to the new system.
He also added that drivers in Ireland faced huge pressures when trying to comply with the regulations.
"If I fill out a card in the morning and put 'J Quinn' rather than 'James Quinn' that's an offence. The fines are now quite substantial. If they examine a bunch of cards - we have to hold them for a year. Any haulier can get a visit from the Department of Transport inspectors and they can request a sample."
The RSA was unable to say how many drivers were convicted of this offence in 2006.
