Martin Candish Head of Compliance Information, Logistics UK
Tachographs have been developed with the aim to record driving periods, rest periods, working time, and period of availability using activity modes, enabling the enforcement of driver's hours, tachograph and working time legislation in road transport. Combined with telematic services that record information about driving behaviour including how fast the vehicle is driven, how hard the driver brakes, and the distance covered, transport managers and operators have all the tools necessary to remain compliant.
Digital tachographs are mandatory for all commercial vehicles weighing above 3.5 tonnes, first registered on or after 1 May 2006. An enhanced version was fitted to vehicles manufactured from October 2012 which included an independent motion source. This provided additional security to combat fraudulent use and tampering and required movement data to be corroborated by at least one other independent source and would record a ‘vehicle motion conflict’ infringement should any tampering be detected.
From 15 June 2019, a new regulation came into force which required the installation of Smart Tachograph 1 to all newly registered vehicles; which although looks similar to the digital tachograph, has additional features. These features include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) which allows the vehicle’s position to be recorded, and dedicated short range communication (DSRC) which provides a facility for roadside enforcement authorities to communicate with the device.
Smart Tachograph 2 became mandatory for all newly registered vehicles operating outside of the UK from 21 August 2023. However, delays with availability of the new devices meant that many newly registered goods vehicles and coaches couldn't be fitted with Smart Tachograph 2 to comply with the implementation date. As a result, the Department for Transport (DfT) made amendments to relevant UK legislation and laid new regulations on 7 July 2023 that delayed the implementation of Smart Tachograph 2 for vehicles operating domestically in the UK until 21 February 2024.
The new device will provide additional features enhancing the functionality of the previous Smart Tachograph 1 and will require the tachograph to record details such as automatic recording of country border crossing, recording of position at loading and unloading activities, recording whether the vehicle is used for carriage of goods or passengers, and an independent internal motion sensor to detect ‘motion conflict’ from other motion indicating sources.
These improvements will support monitoring and enforcement of additional transport legislation, namely cabotage and the posting of workers rules – which apply when a driver carries out domestic transport operations on a temporary basis in an EU country other than the one your business is established in. There is uncertainty surrounding the use of the tachograph unloading and loading feature, and Logistics UK is working closely with DfT on clarification as to whether there is a legal requirement to record this in the UK.
Smart Tachograph 2 requires the use of a new Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) satellite service to authenticate the GNSS signal when operating, but due to technical issues the OSNMA service will not be operational before the end of 2023. The European Commission has therefore introduced the concept of a 'transitional tachograph' which has a slight variation in the software programming, removing the need to receive the authentication satellite signal.
Transitional tachographs will be installed initially and are programmed to ‘assume the vehicle position is authenticated’. Once the OSNMA satellite service becomes available, installation of transitional tachographs will cease. Once the logistics industry has fully moved to smart tachographs, there will be the ability for enforcement to carry out remote roadside checks collecting limited information such as: the latest security breach attempt and the longest power interruption, sensor faults, motion data errors, vehicle motion conflicts, driving without a valid card, card insertion whilst driving, time adjustment data, calibration data including the dates of the two latest calibrations, vehicle registration, speed recorded by the tachograph and vehicle position.
As well as indicating if drivers have exceeded driving times by looking at continuous driving time, longest daily driving time for previous and ongoing shift, weekly driving time and fortnightly driving time. To use your current download devices to download information from Smart Tachograph 2, you may need to make some updates for the following devices: Tachosys, DLK Pro/s and Lisle. For further information please click here
VDO will be releasing a new device in Q3 that will automatically be compatible with the new DTCO 4.1 tachograph. You will need to check the serial number of your device to see if it can be updated. Full details can be found here
Road compliance and legislation can, at times, be overwhelming to navigate. Logistics UK recognises that businesses and transport operators may not have a full understanding of vehicle compliance and legislation, and therefore offers various tachograph services – at competitive pricing – which provides drivers with a complete bespoke solution to support them. Logistics UK’s tachograph services comprise tachograph analysis, tachograph on-site/remote compliance service and tachograph contract management, and offer tailored solutions to suit each company size, operational processes and individual needs. In addition, Logistics UK offers free webinars where experts demonstrate any new and updated features alongside the best practical advice.
For more information on Logistics UK’s tachograph services, please click here