Term
Tachograph
A device in lorries and coaches that records the driver's driving time, breaks, rest and speed. Its records must be downloaded and archived, and they are used in checks on compliance with drivers' working time rules.
Updated
What it means
A tachograph is a device in lorries and coaches that records the driver's driving time, breaks, rest, speed and distance travelled. Today digital and smart tachographs are used, working with a driver card and able to record the vehicle's location as well.
The obligation comes from EU regulations on drivers' driving and rest times and on tachographs. It applies mainly to goods vehicles above a certain weight and to buses and coaches, and in international transport it has gradually been extended to lighter commercial vehicles.
Tachograph records are the main evidence of whether a driver follows the rules. These set, for example, maximum daily and weekly driving time, a mandatory break after several hours behind the wheel and minimum daily and weekly rest, supplementing the general rules on working time.
How it works in practice
The operator must regularly download data from the vehicle unit and the drivers' cards within the intervals set by the rules and archive it. Special readers and software are used for this, storing the data, flagging infringements and preparing reports for management and inspectors.
Tachograph records are also useful for payroll. They help document hours worked, overtime and night work by drivers and complement attendance records. For travel allowances they show the start and end of a trip and help calculate meal allowances.
When planning trips, mandatory breaks and uninterrupted rest must be taken into account, not just the length of the route. A plan that ignores these rules forces drivers to break them and exposes the company to fines and liability in an accident.
What to watch out for
Checks are carried out by the police on the road and, at the operator's premises, by the labour inspectorate. Fines for driving time breaches, missing records or tampering with the tachograph can be high and hit both operator and driver. Tampering is treated as a serious infringement.
A tachograph does not replace the mileage log for income tax and VAT purposes, although its data can help in keeping one. For tax purposes the business still needs to show the purpose of trips and their link to the business.
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