Which vehicles need a tachograph and when?

Everyone involved in long-distance transport has undoubtedly heard of the tachograph. This device is a routine part of truck logistics, allowing drivers’ work and rest schedules to be conveniently and easily monitored, and ensuring smooth transport control. However, questions often arise as to whether all vehicles involved in logistics, whether smaller or larger, need a tachograph and under what circumstances it is necessary to use one, which we will find out in this article.

Which vehicles need a tachograph?

A digital tachograph, together with an on-board data storage device and a driver card, is used to monitor drivers’ working time and rest periods. This device is indispensable to ensure that drivers comply with rest rules and refrain from overworking, which is crucial for avoiding fatigue-related accidents.

Under current EU legislation, tachographs are compulsory in vehicles, trucks and buses used for commercial purposes and weighing more than 3.5 tonnes. The use of tachographs and driver cards is subject to strict legislation and driving without them can lead to fines for both drivers and companies. The data collected by tachographs help transport inspectorates to ensure that drivers comply with prescribed working time and rest requirements, while enabling companies to manage their fleets effectively. Tachograph reading is an essential performance indicator for every logistics company and commercial vehicle, enabling convenient tracking and efficiency improvements. 

Why is it important to read the tachograph data?

The tachograph and the driver card must be read, as this is provided for by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council. This Regulation applies in all EU Member States and stipulates that data from the driver card must be downloaded at least every 28 days and from the tachograph at least every 90 days. The data must be downloaded even if the driver card has not been used or the vehicle has not moved. These data must be kept for at least one year and, if necessary, made available to inspection authorities. Tachograph data are important for transport inspectors to ensure compliance with work and rest rules and enable companies to manage their fleets effectively.

The ability to provide the necessary data to the inspection authority and to have complete information for the previous year depends on timely downloading of data. If you fail to download the data on time, you risk losing some of your data, as these tachograph reading intervals are strictly defined. Tachographs and driver cards have limited internal memory, so new data are overwritten on top of older data and data that have not been downloaded may be lost.

By downloading the data, you can also retrieve information recorded over a period of more than 28 days. This can happen because the reading intervals are calculated based on the maximum memory capacity that can be used. Nevertheless, the intervals laid down in the law should be respected, as there are fines for failing to comply with this obligation.