Operators have legal responsibilities and liabilities for their own compliance with the regulations and that of the drivers under their control.
Operators must:
Download data from the Vehicle Unit
Operators must download data from the vehicle unit:
Download data from driver cards
Operators must download data from the driver’s card:
Provide copies
Provide copies of charts and digital data to drivers if requested to do so.
Regular checks
Make regular checks of charts and digital data to ensure compliance.
Produce records
Be able to produce records to enforcement officers for 12 months.
Prevent breaches
Take all reasonable steps to prevent breaches of the rules.
Tachograph calibration and inspection
All tachographs used for recording drivers’ hours, whether analogue, digital or smart, must be properly installed, calibrated and sealed. This task must be performed by either a vehicle manufacturer or an approved tachograph calibration centre. An installation plaque must be fixed to or near the tachograph. Tachograph calibration centres will issue a certificate showing details of any inspection conducted.
Analogue tachographs must be inspected every 2 years and recalibrated every 6 years.
Digital and smart tachographs must be recalibrated:
Breakdown of the tachograph
EU and AETR legislation requires that in the event of a breakdown or faulty operation of the tachograph, it must be repaired as soon as possible. If the vehicle is unable to return to its base within a week the repair must be carried out en route.
GB legislation also provides that a driver or operator will not be liable to be convicted if they can prove to a court that the vehicle was on its way to a place where the tachograph could be repaired, or that it was not immediately practicable for it to be repaired and the driver was keeping a manual record. Additionally, they will not be liable where a seal is broken and the breaking of the seal was unavoidable and could not be immediately repaired, providing that all other aspects of the EU/ AETR rules were being complied with.
For faults and breakdowns involving digital or smart tachographs, operators should ask the repair centre to download any data held on the unit. If this is not possible, the centre should issue the operator with a ‘certificate of undownloadability’, which must be kept for at least 12 months.
International journeys
Although this is the position under EU/ AETR rules, it is not advisable to start or continue an international journey with a defective tachograph, even if manual records are kept. This is because many countries will not permit entry by such vehicles, since their own domestic laws require a fully functioning system.
Digital or smart tachographs – company cards
Company cards are issued by DVLA in the company name. Company cards do not primarily hold data but act as an electronic key to protect and access data from the VU. A company can hold up to 2,232 cards, which will have identical card numbers – but different issue numbers at the end of the card number that enable operators to tell them apart.
Company cards are needed to download data from the VU – they can be placed in either driver card slot. Company cards are not needed to access information from a driver card where it is being downloaded separately from the VU.
Operators may also use the company card to lock in (in other words, protect) their drivers’ details. Once an operator has locked in, all subsequent data is protected and the full details may only be downloaded by inserting a company card with the same number. Locking in is particularly recommended, as failure to do it could lead to an operator being unable to download its data if the data held in the VU has been protected by a previous operator locking in with its card.
The cards can also be used to lock out when an operator has finished with a vehicle – for example, if it has been sold or if the operator has been using a hired vehicle. Locking out will signify the end of their interest in the vehicle and its operations, although failing to do so will not prevent another operator protecting its own data by locking in, as locking in will automatically lock out the previous protection.
Operators who use hired vehicles may need to train their drivers, and equip them with the means to download VU data from vehicles at the point of de-hire where this occurs away from base.
How to apply for a company card
You can apply online:
Apply for a company digital tachograph card.
This service is available for UK companies.
There is more information about digital company tachograph cards for Northern Ireland
Source – DVSA