New legislation on the digital tachograph use

At the end of January, the European Commission adopted some measures aimed at detecting and preventing abuses of the tachograph system, used to record the driving time and rest periods of professional drivers. Furthermore, the new legislation permits the use of dedicated, type-approved adaptors for light vehicles that are required to comply with the drivers’ hours and tachograph rules

Firstly, amendments to Directive 2006/22/EC require Member States to develop dedicated equipment and software that can be used to analyse the data from the digital tachograph. Secondly, the new Commission Regulation now corrects a technical shortcoming by allowing the use of a dedicated, type-approved adaptor for light commercial vehicles (M1 and N1 class) that were exempted in 2006 from the scope of the Drivers’ Hours rules.

The package of measures will significantly improve the methods and procedures used by control authorities in detecting and preventing the use of devices intended to defraud the tachograph system, whilst at the same time keeping unnecessary delays and inconvenience to law-abiding operators and drivers to an absolute minimum.