7 April 2008, Brussels

24 Months with the Digital Tachograph: Where we are today and where we'll be tomorrow

Two years ago, on 11 April 2006, the Official Journal of the European Union announced the deadlines for compulsory use of digital tachographs in all new vehicles subject to driving and rest time rules (in force since 1 May 2006) and the date when those rules themselves would change (in force since 11 April 2007). It is no exaggeration to say that these two texts have had profound consequences for the road transport industry, one that no operator can afford to neglect. Links to these key legal texts can be found at the bottom of this article. Transport companies and drivers will also find valuable the links at the bottom of this page to Enforcement Guidance notes that have been published by the European Commission (EC) on how to interpret individual aspects of driving and rest time rules.

So where are we now 24 months on from that date? Fortunately, most of the confusion surrounding the introduction of the digital tachograph inside the EU has passed. Today all EU Member States, except Greece, are now able to issue driver, company, enforcement and workshop cards. On 18 October 2007 the European Commission formally initiated legal proceedings against Greece for its failure to implement the Digital Tachograph Regulation.

Within the EU problems remain: from card issuing delays, to the equipping of enforcement officers, to technical problems with the device itself. Efforts are ongoing to solve all these problems and to ensure that the road transport industry gets the digital tachograph and the supporting systems they need. A key element of this push for improvement is the Commission sponsored `Smart Tachograph' project, committed to resolving technical problems with the current device and in which the International Road Transport Union (IRU) is a key stakeholder. You may expect to see updates on progress from this project via this web page in the coming months.

Moving outside the EU we should not forget that the digital tachograph will soon become a feature of everyday life for non-EU transport companies operating under AETR rules. For them the requirement to fit digital tachographs to all new vehicles running under the international AETR agreement will come into effect from 10 June 2010. As the countdown to this deadline continues we shall also be updating you here with the latest news and developments.

Tachograph Regulations:

Driving and Rest Time Rules Regulation 561/2006/EC:

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:102:0001:0013:EN:PDF

Driving and Rest Time Rule Guidance notes:

Enforcement guidance notes have been adopted by the European Commission's Legal Working Group, composed of Member States, the IRU, the European Transport Workers Federation and other Industry Stakeholders. The guidance notes are not legally binding since only the European Court of Justice can give legally binding interpretations of European legislation. However, these interpretations have been approved by the Legal Services of the Commission and offer guidelines as to how the rules should be enforced.

Six guidance notes have so far been produced dealing with how drivers should record travelling time and when this can be considered as rest, for example in two men operations; how rest should be taken on board a ferry or a train; when short interruptions to rest periods should not be sanctioned; the granting of driving time tolerance thresholds for drivers using digital tachograph equipped vehicles and how the common EU driver activity attestation form should be used.

They can be found in all the official languages of the European Community at the following link on the European Commission's website:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road/policy/social_provision/social_driving_time_en.htm

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