11-04-06 Mandatory fitment date for digital tachographs announced
The 1st May is the agreed date for mandatory fitting of Digital Tachographs.
The new EU Drivers Hours Rules were announced by the European Union on 11 April 2006. The agreed formula is that digital tachographs become mandatory for new vehicles 20 days after the new drivers' hours rules are formally published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Therefore every new vehicle that enters service from 1 May 2006 will have to be fitted with a digital tachograph equipment.
From 1 May 2006 the following digital tachograph related requirements will come into force:
- data from digital tachograph vehicle units and associated driver cards must be regularly downloaded (the frequency of downloading is left to individual Member States - the Department will invite industry to comment on this in due course);
- drivers using digital tachographs must make manual entries in certain situations;
- drivers must make print-outs at the start and end of their journey in situations when their driver card has been lost or stolen;
- drivers will need to be able to produce records of drivers’ hours for the current week and those record sheets used in the previous 15 days.
VOSA will check compliance with this requirement and take enforcement action where it is found that the regulation has not been complied with.
Page last updated: 25/09/2006