Guide To Buying A Tachograph System – What You Need To Know

A tachograph is a vehicle monitoring device and software designed to make sure that all of the driving activity for your drivers is recorded. This is to ensure that they comply with the drivers’ hours laws, which are regulations that govern the time a professional can spend driving and how long their rest periods must be.

Tachograph systems use four main symbols to record a driver’s activity:

• Drive: when a driver uses a vehicle and the engine is running (park time is included)
• Other work: a driver’s work activity when the engine is of (like unpacking goods)
• Available: when a driver is available to work but the engine isn’t on (e.g. ferry travel)
• Rest/break: a driver’s non-working time (both when on breaks or rests and off-shift)

All professional vehicles are required by law to have a tachograph fitted. It’s the obligation of fleet owners and managers to ensure that their drivers use the tachograph system fitted and that the laws regarding drivers’ hours are adhered to.

If you’re unsure about whether you need to install and use one of these systems then you should read the UK Government’s rules for drivers and operators. It includes useful resources, including  the regulations for recovery vehicles, drive and rest/break times for drivers and any exemptions.

Tachographs record the activity of drivers, using the four tachograph symbols — drive, other work, available and rest/break — to show what drivers have been doing.

There are two different types of tachograph, analogue and digital.

However, it’s been a legal requirement since 25 June 2019 that all new HGVs sold in the UK must use a digital tachograph. These digital systems allow enforcement agencies to remotely capture data, allowing them to establish if any rules are being broken without stopping drivers.

Arctic vehicles (refrigerated transport lorries) are another type of large goods vehicle that tachographs are important for. Professional drivers using refrigerated transport lorries must still comply with the drivers’ hours rules and the data recorded by tachographs helps demonstrate compliance. Even some farmers have started using tachograph devices for their vehicles to provide them with peace of mind.

The associated legislation, simplicity and convenience of digital systems means analogue systems have largely become a thing of the past. Data from an analogue system has to be accessed by physically taking the tacho to the office or vehicle depot, whereas data from a digital tacho can be sent remotely.

Below, we explain how modern systems use a digital tachograph to record data and highlight how historic systems use an analogue tachograph sheet.

With analogue tachographs being more prone to human error than digital ones, it’s in the interest of business owners and managers to invest in software rather than take the risk of using manual systems.

This is because it’s the obligation of these individuals to guarantee that the correct data is recorded about their drivers, failure to do so would result in a breach of the rules around driver’s hours.

There’s a wide range of tachograph analysis software available to fleet businesses.

Tacho software usually comes as an integrated part of a telematics system. Tacho analysis is standardised as its factual output is very clearly defined by law. This means that you would normally choose your tachograph analysis software based on the telematics offering around it, rather than on the tacho functionality alone.

The telematics provider will need to have an independent agency they work with that receives the data in a secure way and reads it to confirm independently that your drivers are compliant.

Using a tachograph system ensures your business meets its requirements to comply with the rules around drivers’ hours. This protects your company against the implications of non-compliance with this legislation.

Telematic devices also help protect your business. These devices transmit a range of diagnostic data about your vehicles, including when they are activated, opened or closed. This means you can use telematic systems to tell you where your vehicles are and quickly establish if they might have been stolen or if they’re being misused by your drivers.

Tachographs are almost always used alongside a telematics system, which provides far more information to the fleet manager in real time.

Visit our telematics page to learn more about how these devices can help your business.