New digital tacho rules to prevent fraud

26 Jan 2009

The European Commission adopted a package of measures aimed at detecting and preventing abuses of the tachograph system and permitting the use of dedicated, type-approved adaptors for light vehicles that are required to comply with the Drivers' Hours and Tachograph rules.

The enhancements of Directive 2006/22/EC, which deals with enforcement and checks of social rules relating to road transport activities, require Member States to develop dedicated equipment and software that can be used to analyse the data from the digital tachograph.

Furthermore, a Commission Recommendation sets out best practice guidelines for national control authorities when carrying out checks of vehicles and the recording equipment, whether at the roadside, at company premises, or at workshops.

Improving the methods and procedures used by control authorities in detecting and preventing the use of devices intended to defraud the tachograph system, these measures are intended to keep unnecessary delays and inconvenience to law-abiding operators and drivers to an absolute minimum.

Regulation (EEC) 3821/85, as amended in 2006, requires that digital tachographs be installed in goods vehicles and buses brought into service after May 1, 2006, that fall within the scope of the Drivers' Hours rules.