Tachodisc

FREIGHT INDUSTRY TIMES

After many years of discussion and debate, legislation for the mandatory requirement of digital tachographs was finally introduced last year to all new vehicles over 3.5 tonnes registered in the UK.  Twelve months on, and nearly a quarter of million drivers employed across 32,000 companies have been issued with new smart cards. So how have these changes affected the industry and what are the main concerns.  Karen Crispe, Director of Tachodisc, gives her assessment of some key issues facing the industry.

All operators are familiar with the traditional analogue tachograph – it has arguably become a British institution. Instigated by developments in technology, the introduction of an alternative digital solution was only a matter of time for the industry.  You would expect the transition to the new digital world to be smooth, however, there are concerns about the anomalies that exist between the contrasting technologies. This is causing great confusion, and without further clarification they could result in operators and drivers compromising their legal position.  Let’s understand the two issues that are causing the most debate.

Rounding-up
Digital tachographs record activity to the nearest minute. The concern expressed from operators is the potential for the values to produce incorrect data.  Operators undertaking multiple short stop services for example, could be most at risk of seemingly exceeding driver’s time limits.

VOSA considers that the rounding up or down factor will not adversely affect the accuracy of the overall information produced.  However, this is clearly challengeable, as too many assumptions are being made, and it could mean the difference between being legal or illegal.

Until this issue has been resolved legally, it is advisable that drivers should still abide by the information produced by the digital tachograph.

Proportional Analysis
When the amended Drivers’ Hours Law came into force on 11th April 2007, the wording relating to checking drivers’ tachograph records changed. This amended Regulation states that ‘regular’ checks must be completed by operators to ensure that their drivers comply with the law, rather than the ‘periodic’ reference in the previous Regulation. This subtle change shows that more emphasis is being placed on the analysis of drivers’ records, but the question of whether proportional analysis / part analysis is legal remains.

Tachodisc has queried the exact meaning of ‘regular’ with VOSA, and has been told, “an operator must make sufficient checks to ensure drivers comply with the law”. Many operators however take the view that there is no requirement to have all charts checked for every driver and that proportional or partial analysis or checking is adequate.

Analogue charts are ‘checked’ on a basic level by a significant number of operators despite having little or no specific training in many cases. Digital implementation, however, sees the digital data stored in a binary format, which is impossible to read without some form of software or the use of an Analysis Bureau.

For years, many operators have chosen to proportionally analyse their analogue charts, selecting a proportion for full analysis, and sight-checking the remainder themselves.  Providing the operator can prove that the charts have been checked and action taken where inconsistencies were found, this was considered acceptable, and as such these customers understandably want the same service carried out on their digital data.

The encrypted chip in the Smart Card means that at the moment operators are not able to be selective regarding the data for download; it’s all or nothing. This currently makes it difficult for bureaus to respond to customers’ desire for part-analysis without further development. The industry as a whole is working hard to resolve this issue.

I believe that we are in for a period of real uncertainty and that the situation is unlikely to be clarified until someone is held accountable in court, and a precedent is set.

So 12 months on… The impact that digital tachographs have had on the industry has understandably been huge, and its inception has revealed a number of serious questions, which only the Government can now answer. 

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