16-08-05 UK Compulsory Fitment Of Digital Tachographs Delayed Until 5th August 2005
The UK government (along with all EU Member States) has received a letter (press to view) from the European Commission (21st April 2004) on the compulsory fitment date of digital tachographs. After careful consideration, it is confirmed that in the UK we will not be enforcing the mandatory fitment of digital tachographs into new / not yet in service vehicles subject to the EU Drivers’ Hours Regulations until 5th August 2005.
How will this affect the transport industry in the UK?
- New vehicles and those first put into service before 5th August 2005 may continue to be fitted and operated with the current tachographs
- There are no changes to the Drivers’ Hours Regulations and you must continue to comply fully with them
- Smart cards for use in digital tachographs will be issued by DVLA. An announcement on the application procedures will be made nearer the time that digital tachographs become available
- Subject to availability, operators may choose to have vehicles fitted with digital tachographs prior to 5th August 2005 but are advised to check with the vehicle manufacturer first. If a digital tachograph is fitted, the driver must have, and use a driver card
Keeping you Informed
As always we are committed to keeping you informed. There will be further updates on this site, articles in Moving On and the trade press.
Additional Information
It is not anticipated that any significant numbers of digital tachographs will be in use before the end of this year (2004). The reasons for this are:
There is some work to be finished at EU level completing the security arrangements
The vehicle manufacturers have indicated that, following type approval of a digital tachograph, they may need up to 12 months to ensure it will integrate with their vehicle ranges and to have time to change over production lines
There is only one manufacturer to date who has submitted a digital tachograph for all the tests leading to type approval, which may be granted on the 29th May 2004.
Page last updated: 03/10/2006