“If the legislative detail sounds convuluted, rest assured that it is”

Digital tachographs are the modern-technology successor to the analogue tachograph used for so many years to record the working and rest times of heavy goods vehicles and certain passenger vehicle drivers.

Tachographs are basically intended to enhance road safety by monitoring whether vehicles have been driven for excessive periods and at what speeds and when, and if drivers have taken their statutory breaks and rest periods as set out in European legislation – bearing in mind that tired drivers and those who speed are a great risk to road safety. The introduction of digital systems has been a long drawn-out affair, mainly as a result of tortuous legislative procedures. However, after a very long wait and many promises of imminent implementation, the legal requirement is finally here.

With publication of regulation EC 561/2006 in the Official Journal of the European Union on 11 April 2006, the new digital tachograph requirements took effect from 1 May 2006, which date is specified in Articles 27 and 29 of the new regulation, effectively implementing Annex 1B of EEC Regulation 3821/85 and its various amendments. If the legislative detail sounds convoluted, rest assured that it is. There have been so many amendment provisions to earlier regulations that it is mind boggling to try to contemplate them all. But the message is very simple. Any relevant new goods or passenger vehicle (with certain specific exemptions) first registered from 1 May 2006 must be equipped with a digital tachograph.

Importantly, too, any person who drives a vehicle fitted with such an instrument must, by law, possess and use his/her own driver “smart card”, issued by the DVLA, to record their driving activities, daily breaks and rest periods. However, it is important to note that analogue (ie old chart-type) tachographs in existing vehicles will continue in use alongside digital instruments fitted in new vehicles – so two systems will operate and confusion is likely to reign for some time to come.

Definitions
A number of new terms have appeared along with these digital instruments, as defined below, which it is essential for both the operator and the driver to understand.

• Recording equipment is the official term used to describe a digital tachograph
• The data memory is an electronic storage system built into the recording equipment, which stores at least 365 calendar days’ data
• A driver card is a “smart card” issued by the DVLA to individual drivers on application and payment of the appropriate fee (currently £38 for a five-year card)
• A control card is similar but for use only by the enforcement authorities, allowing them to check the data stored in the data memory or in driver cards
• Company data cards are held and used by operators of vehicles to enable them to display, download and print the data stored in the recording equipment
• Workshop cards are available for use by authorised fitters in tachograph workshops where they use them for testing and calibrating digital installations
• Downloading is the term used to describe the procedure of copying data stored in a digital tachograph or on a driver smart card to the office PC. Importantly, this process must not result in any of the data being altered or deleted, but must allow for its origin to be authenticated, for it to be kept in a format that can be used by the authorities and for any attempt to manipulate it to be detectable

“The biggest difference for drivers between the analogue tachograph and the new digital tachograph is the use of a 'smart' card”

Functions of digital tachograph
Digital tachographs are capable of recording, storing, displaying and printing out a great deal of specified statutory information of which the key items are as follows:

• Distance travelled by the vehicle accurate to one km
• Speed of the vehicle
• Periods of driving time (times and dates), accurate to one minute
• Other periods of work or availability (times and dates) accurate to one minute
• Breaks from work and daily rest periods (times and dates) accurate to one minute
• The driver card issue number with times and dates of insertion and removal
• Information on previous use of the driver smart card in another instrument
• Date, time and duration of driving without an inserted or a functioning driver card
• Data recorded on the places where the daily work period began and ended
• Faults in the driver card with date and time and driver card issue number
• Insertion of workshop and control cards with date and time details, and so on

Storing on the driver card
The driver card must store:

• Essential data for at least the last 28 calendar days along with the VRN (that is, Vehicle Registration Number)
• Date and time of insertion and removal of the driver card and distance travelled during that time
• Date and time of insertion and removal of the co‑driver card with issue number
• This data must be recorded and stored in such a way as to rule out any possibility of falsification.

Displaying or printing for an authorised examiner
The equipment must be capable of displaying or printing, on request, the following information:

• The name of the driver together with the card issue number, and its expiry date
• Current driving time since the last break or rest period
• Driving time for the day after the last rest period of at least eight hours
• Driving times for the day between two rest periods of at least eight hours for the preceding 27 calendar days on which the driver has driven, with date, time and duration
• Total of the driving times for the current week and the preceding week and the total times for the two completed preceding weeks
• The other periods of work and availability; rest periods of at least eight hours' duration for the day and the preceding 27 days in each case with date, time and duration
• VRN identification of vehicles driven for at least the last 28 calendar days with the distance travelled per vehicle and day, time of first insertion and last removal of the driver card and the time of change of vehicle
• Time adjustment with date, time and card issue number
• Interruption of power supply to the recording equipment with date, time, duration and driver card issue number;
• Sensor interruption with date, time, duration and driver card issue number
• Driving without driver card as defined above for the last 28 calendar days
• Details of the information stored concerning the driver
• Recorded data on the places where the daily work period began and ended
• The automatically identifiable system faults of the recording equipment with date, time and driver card issue number
• The faults in the driver card with date and time and driver card issue number.
• Control card number with date of control card insertion and type of control (display, printing, downloading). In the case of downloading, period downloaded should be recorded
• Exceeding the authorised speed as defined above, with date, time and driver card issue number for the current week and in any case including the last day of the previous week
• Summary reports to permit compliance with the relevant regulations to be checked

Advice for drivers
The biggest difference for drivers between the analogue tachograph and the new digital tachograph, and crucial to the whole system, is the use of a “smart” card (officially called a “tachograph card”) instead of the current type of chart (that is, a “record sheet”).

A typical digital tachograph (vehicle unit) showing No 1 and 2 driver card slots, the menu-select buttons that the driver uses to record various items of data and the tally-roll of printed data (courtesy of Siemens VDO)

“The biggest difference for drivers between the analogue tachograph and the new digital tachograph is the use of a 'smart' card”

This is a plastic (credit card-sized) card with an embedded microchip that is personal to the individual driver and carries identification information and other essential data about him or her. It stores relevant data on driving and working times, breaks and rest periods, and so on, covering at least 28 days and comprises the legal record in place of the old tachograph chart.

The card itself is tamper‑proof and strict regulatory systems are established to prevent fraudulent issue, use and transfer of cards. These cards should not be loaned to any other person and should be safeguarded against damage through bending or scratching.

The card should be inserted in the digital tachograph (slot 1) at the beginning of the working day otherwise a full record of the day’s work will not be made. Once inserted, a menu will display the log‑in procedure and the time, together with a prompt to input other information including the country in which the card is being used. When driving commences, the instrument records automatically with warnings appearing if continuous driving exceeds 4½ hours. When drivers change over, each has to log out and re‑insert their own card in the appropriate slot, (ie 1 or 2). When taking a break, the mode switch is set to “Break”.

If apprehended in a roadside enforcement check, the examiner will require the driver card and will insert their own control card in the instrument to check the recordings and make printouts as evidence, if necessary. Drivers should familiarise themselves with the method for changing the roll of printout paper – a spare roll should always be carried in the vehicle. A daily printout must be made for every day’s driving with a digital tachograph and these must be shown to enforcement officers along with tachograph charts made with analogue instruments if mixed driving has taken place during the week.

Details of time spent working away from the vehicle that are normally written on the rear of analogue tachograph charts have to be input manually into the digital tachograph. The system also records details of any faults, interference, errors and over‑speeding that occur. All this information will be stored for at least 28 days on the driver’s personal “smart card” and for at least a year in the vehicle unit (that is, the digital tachograph). Employers must keep driver’s records (that is, tachograph charts) and digital print-outs for at least one year and must give copies to any driver who requests them.

Application for a driver “smart card”
It is illegal to drive a digital tachograph vehicle without a driver “smart card” from the DVLA, from which application packs are obtainable containing detailed instructions on how to apply for the card, an application form (Form D777B) and a list of the fees payable. Cards are issued under strict security and stringent rules control their issue, use, replacement and eventual return to the DVLA.

The address for contacting the DVLA on digital tachograph matters is: Swansea SA99 1ST, and further information can be found on the official government website: www.digitaltachograph.gov.uk

Information on both tachographs and the relevant driving hours’ law can be found in David Lowe’s books: The Pocket Guide to LGV Drivers' Hours & Tachographs and The Transport Manager's and Operator's Handbook 2006, both available from Website: www.kogan-page.co.uk