How to stay tacho compliant

EU tachograph regulation is strict and the punishment for failing to comply can be severe. Despite this, many fleet-reliant businesses admit that they do not always adhere to the letter of the law.

In a recent Verizon Connect survey, we found that 32% of business owners did not download driver card data every 28 days in line with regulation.

Perhaps business owners are relatively casual about tachograph compliance because they feel it is unlikely that their business will come to the attention of the relevant authorities. If this is the case, then this feeling is misplaced: over half of European transport companies have been inspected for compliance within the last year.

However, with the right approach, complying with tachograph regulation shouldn’t be taxing. Here are three simple tips to help you stay on the right side of the law:

Understand your responsibilities

The responsibilities of a fleet-reliant business when it comes to tachograph compliance are many and varied. Not only must you ensure that all eligible vehicles are fitted with a tachograph unit but also that it is tested, calibrated and working correctly. Futhermore, you must be sure to schedule all routes in line with driving hour regulations so that your drivers are not under pressure to skip breaks.

It is also crucial that your drivers fully understand what it expected of them. This means they must be aware that it is their responsibility to ensure that the tachograph correctly records their activity and that the driver card is installed at the start of every shift.

Be aware of common mistakes

In many cases, non-compliance may not be a deliberate act. It could well be the result of one of several common tachograph errors. In our recent tachograph survey, we found that almost half of drivers fail to record their time correctly. On top of this, 15% forget to insert the driver card at the start of every shift.

Not only does this cause issues with compliance but such errors also take time to fix. Our survey found that, in some cases, fleet managers are spending up to two days per week fixing errors in tacho data.

Be sure to train and retrain drivers on the importance of adhering to tacho regulation. At best, such mistakes are a drain on your time. At worst, they could lead to hefty fines.

Trust in technology

Managing your tachograph no longer has to be a manual process.The technology now exists to monitor your driver’s tacho status in near real-time, receiving alerts when breaks are due and warnings when driver hours have been exceeded.

A digital tachograph solution also allows you to schedule tachograph and driver card data to download remotely and automatically, helping you to stay compliant with EU regulations.

These are just some of the many benefits of a digital tachograph solution. Find out more here.