What is a Tachograph?

Do you work with trucks or other heavy vehicles? Then you are familiar with the term tachograph. In this article, you will learn everything about what a tachograph is.

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The Tachograph

What is a tachograph? A tachograph is a device installed in vehicles with a payload of more than 3.5 tonnes, such as trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles. It records driving and rest times, speed, location, and distance. The tachograph is used as a control tool to verify whether a driver complies with working time regulations, driving and rest time rules, and — more recently — to monitor cabotage and the posting of workers.

Legal Requirement

A tachograph is not required in every vehicle. It is only mandatory for vehicles or vehicle combinations (such as a van with a trailer) used in goods transport where the maximum mass exceeds 3,500 kg. Vehicles carrying more than 8 passengers, excluding the driver, must also be equipped with a tachograph. The first driving and rest time rules were introduced in 1969, and since then the use of the tachograph has been mandatory. From 1 July 2026, vehicles weighing 2,500 kg that perform cabotage operations will also be required to have a tachograph.

The European tachograph rules are set by the European Commission. These rules for international road transport and bus services are known as the Mobility Package.

Enforcement

As a company, you are required to comply with tachograph regulations. Failure to do so can result in fines. Various authorities are responsible for checking whether drivers comply with tachograph rules. In the Netherlands, this authority is the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (IL&T). Tachograph data can be checked in three ways:

• Roadside check: inspectors stand alongside the road, pull over a driver, and check the tachograph data on the spot.
• Company inspection: an IL&T inspector visits the company to check all tachograph data. During a company inspection, the IL&T may also check other transport regulations such as the Working Hours Act, the Working Hours Decree for Transport, the Goods Transport by Road Act, and the Dangerous Goods Transport Act (if applicable).
• Digital inspection: the IL&T requests digital files from a company (the M and C files).

The IL&T states that inspections are often triggered by signals they receive. These signals can include:

• Risk profiles generated by the IL&T itself
• Complaints from external parties, citizens, or the police
• A certain number of penalty points in the ERRU register
• Requests from organisations such as the Stichting Nationale Wegvervoer

Reading the Tachograph

The tachograph allows a company to prove to enforcement authorities that it has complied with the rules. To do so, the tachograph must be read out (i.e. tachograph data must be downloaded) at regular intervals. This data is stored both on the tachograph and on the driver’s driver card. The tachograph data can be analysed using tachograph analysis software such as that offered by Roadsoft.

Driver Card

If you use a digital or smart tachograph, each driver must have a driver card. This card must be applied for individually through KIWA and serves as identification for the driver. The driver card must always be inserted into the tachograph so that activities during working time can be recorded (driving, resting, available, and other). Tachograph data is stored on this driver card.

Company Card

A company card is required for the administration of tachograph data. This card makes it possible to download tachograph data.

Downloading

The tachograph data on the driver card must be downloaded every 28 days. Failure to do so constitutes a violation. In addition, the data stored on the tachograph itself must be downloaded every 90 days. During a roadside check, you must be able to show tachograph data from the previous 28 days; however, as of 31 December 2024, this has been updated in the Mobility Package to the previous 58 days.

Analysis

Once the tachograph data has been downloaded, it can be analysed. By analysing the data, a company can demonstrate whether it has complied with EU tachograph regulations and gain insight into areas for improvement and any violations committed by individual drivers. Good tachograph analysis software fully prepares you for a tachograph inspection. Roadsoft’s tachograph analysis software takes the time-consuming analysis work off your hands.

Types of Tachographs

New versions of the tachograph are continuously being introduced. Each new version can monitor more effectively, and manipulation of tachograph data becomes increasingly difficult. The different types of tachographs are:

Analogue Tachograph

The analogue tachograph was the first type introduced and has been used since 1985 to monitor drivers’ driving and rest times. It did not use a driver card, but instead relied on a tachograph disc (also known as a record sheet). The analogue tachograph is rarely seen today, as the digital tachograph was introduced on 1 May 2006.

Digital Tachograph

The digital tachograph succeeded the analogue tachograph. It was developed to make manipulation more difficult and because it offered superior technical functionality. The digital tachograph electronically records driving and rest times, speed, kilometres driven, activities, and driver identity. In addition, data is stored in two locations rather than on a single record sheet as with the analogue tachograph. These two locations are:

• On the tachograph
• On the driver card

Smart Tacho 1

Following the digital tachograph, a new model was introduced: the smart tachograph. The first version was the Smart Tacho 1, introduced on 15 June 2019. It was called ‘smart’ because it introduced several new features not present in the digital tachograph: GNSS (a global satellite navigation system for location tracking), DSRC (communication with inspection equipment), and ITS (connectivity with external devices via Bluetooth). These new features made fraud and manipulation of tachograph data even more difficult.

Smart Tacho 2

As of 21 August 2023, the Smart Tacho 2 has been mandatory for all newly registered vehicles. Vehicles registered after 21 August 2023 must have a Smart Tacho 2 or they are not permitted on the road. In addition to newly registered vehicles, vehicles operating internationally that are fitted with a Smart Tacho 1, digital tachograph, or analogue tachograph must also have their tachograph replaced. This replacement process is known as the retrofit. The Smart Tacho 2 features improved versions of existing functions as well as new capabilities, such as the loading and unloading function, enabling enforcement of cabotage and posting of workers regulations.

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