New Tachograph Regulations being phased In

Euro Tachograph Solutions (ETS) was established in 2013 with an aim to provide Tachograph analysis to road and passenger transport operators nationwide. With over 30 years in the transport industry the team at Euro Tachograph Solutions has prepared a document to provide operators some guidance on the new tachograph regulations that form the new “mobility package”.

*Please note this is just a guide*

Soon, carriers will face further changes in road transport law. Since 20 August 2020, the first provisions of the Mobility Package have come into force. The regulations will be introduced in stages, so the owners of transport companies still have time to fully prepared. According to the European Commission, the aim of changes in international transport law is to maintain a balance between driver safety, social justice and a sustainable economy, while taking care of the market and economic needs of European Union (EU) countries.

In short, the aim of the Mobility Package is to improve the working conditions of drivers in all Member States. The Directive applies to the following:

1. Amendments of rest requirements for drivers
2. Return of drivers to the base
3. Extensions of driving time
4. Licences and tachographs for carriers with a fleet of 2.5 tonne to 3.5 tonne vehicles in international transport
5. Replacement of tachographs
6. Cabotage (advised at a later stage)
7. Rules for posting of drivers (advised at a later stage)

Social & Internal Market Pillars of Mobility Package I (3 Proposals)

• Driving and rest time rules & tachograph Reg. (Reg. 561/2006, Reg. 165/2014+ Reg. 2020/1054)
• Lex Specialis on posting of Drivers and Enforcement Directive (Dir. 2006/22)
• Access to profession and market (Reg. 1071/2009 + 1072/2009)

Entry into force of new rules August 2020

Legal text	Delay of entry in force	Starts applying on
Driving & Rest Times & Tachograph Regulation	Immediately (20 days after publication)	August 2020
Lex Specialises On Enforcement & Posting Directive	+ 18 months	February 2022
Access To Profession & Market (General)	+ 18 months	February 2022
Access To Profession & Market (LCVs)	+ 21 months	May 2022

 

The Mobility Package introduces new rules on drivers’ working time and rest periods. As its authors argue, the aim is to improve road safety and prevent unfair competition resulting from the non-compliance of certain operators. It is also important to protect drivers’ working conditions and their safety not only at work but also during rest. Hence, checks on transport undertakings for compliance will be extended. Drivers will also need to have full knowledge of driving times, rest periods and the dangers of excessive fatigue at work.

• Taking regular weekly rest

According to the new regulations, every rest lasting more than 45 hours will have to be taken outside the cab, in a place with adequate sanitary facilities to ensure the safety of both the trucker and the load being carried. This place may be adjacent to the parking lot.

IMPORTANT!

Safe and secure parking areas should be audited and certified according to EU standards. The audit procedures should ensure that parking lots continuously meet certain standards.

It will be the responsibility of the transport company to pay for accommodation in such a parking lot.

Carriers and drivers will have access to information on available rest areas with the required standards. The information will be available on a website and updated on a regular basis. The European Commission will publish a list of all certified parking areas. Such parking areas will guarantee the following:

• Detection and prevention of intrusions
• Lighting and visibility
• Emergency contact point and emergency procedures
• Sanitary infrastructure for each gender
• Possibility to buy food and beverages
• Connectivity for communication
• Power supply

As part of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network), as many new secure parking areas are to be created so that the distance between them does not exceed 100 km.

IMPORTANT!

In the case of a multi-man crew, a driver may take a break of 45 minutes in a vehicle driven by another driver, provided that during this break he/she is not involved in assisting the driver driving the vehicle.

1.2 Weekly Rest 

The driver’s working time and, above all, rest periods, are set so as to minimise the risk to road safety. At present there are weekly rest periods – regular (45 hours) and reduced (at least 24 hours). Currently, a driver takes at least two regular weekly rests or a regular weekly rest and one reduced weekly rest within two weeks.

The Mobility Package changes the rule on weekly rest allowing a driver to take two reduced weekly rest back to back.

1.3 Changes to reduced weekly rest

(a) Drivers engaged in international transport may take two reduced weekly rest periods back to back provided that the driver takes at least four weekly rest periods of which two shall be regular weekly rest periods.

(b) When a driver takes two weekly reduced rest periods back to back, the next weekly rest period shall be preceded by a rest period taken as compensation for those two reduced rest periods.

1.4 Rest periods greater than 45 hours

The regular weekly rest periods and any weekly rest period of more than 45 hours taken in compensation for previous reduced weekly rest periods shall not be taken in a vehicle. They shall be taken in suitable gender friendly accommodation with adequate sleeping and sanitary facilities. Any cost for accommodation outside the vehicle shall be covered by the employer.

1.5. Interrupting the rest on the ferry

A driver accompanying a vehicle on a ferry or on a train and takes a regular daily rest or reduced weekly rest period may interrupt this period not more than twice with other activities not exceeding one hour in total. While resting he/she must have access to a sleeper cabin, bunk or couchette.

A regular weekly rest period may be interrupted not more than twice by other activities not exceeding 1 hour in total provided the ferry or train journey is scheduled for 8 hours or more and the driver has access to a sleeper cabin in the ferry or on the train.

1.6. Use of drivers cards & record sheets

Drivers shall use record sheets or driver cards every day on which they drive, starting from the moment they take over the vehicle. The record sheet or driver card shall not be withdrawn before the end of the daily working period unless its withdrawal is otherwise authorised or is necessary in order to enter the symbol of the country after having crossed a border.

Each driver of a vehicle fitted with an analogue tachograph shall enter the following information on his/her record sheet: The symbols of the countries in which the daily working period started and finished. The driver shall also entre the symbol of the country that the driver enters after crossing a border of a Member State at the beginning of the drivers first stop in that Member State. That first stop shall be made at the nearest possible stopping place at or after the border.  Where the crossing of the border of a Member State takes place on a ferry or a train, the driver shall entre the symbol of the country at the port or station of arrival.

The driver shall enter in the digital tachograph the symbols of the countries in which the daily working period started and finished.

1.7. Exemptions (article 3 of Reg 561/2006) – The following have been added

Vehicle or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible mass not exceeding 7.5 tonnes used for;

(a)  Carrying materials, equipment or machinery for the drivers use in the course of the driver’s work or

(b)  For delivering goods which are produced on a craft basis,

Only within a 100km radius from the base of the undertaking and on the condition that driving the vehicle does not constitute the drivers main activity and transport is not carried out for hire or reward.

1.8. Exceptions (Article 13 of Reg 561/2006) – The following have been added

(a) Vehicles or combinations of vehicles carrying construction machinery for a construction undertaking, up to a radius of 100kms from the base of the undertaking, provided that driving the vehicles does not constitute the drivers main activity.

(b) Vehicles used for the delivery of ready mixed concrete.

The Mobility Package requires the carrier to organise the drivers’ work in such a way that they are able to return to the operations centre (base) or place of residence in order to take the required appropriate rest. During this time they should take at least one regular weekly rest or a weekly rest of more than 45 hours as compensation for the reduced weekly rest.

It is important that transport companies organise the work of drivers in such a way that they do not spend too much time away from home and that they can take long rest periods for example at home.

Such activities must be documented in the form of tachograph records, drivers’ duty rosters or other documents. They should be available at the premises of the transport undertaking and presented to the inspection authorities on request.

3. Extensions of driving time (20.08.2020)

In exceptional circumstances, the driver will be allowed to exceed the daily or weekly driving time by a maximum of one hour to reach his base or place of residence in order to take a weekly rest period. However, the condition is that the extra hour of driving must not jeopardise road safety.

The driver will also have a second option – he/she will be able to extend his journey by up to two hours, provided that he/she takes a 30-minute break immediately before the start of the additional driving time in order to reach the employers operational centre or the driver’s place of residence to take a weekly rest.

The reasons for the extension of driving hours shall be entered by hand on the record sheet of the recording equipment, on a printout from the recording equipment or on a duty roster, at the latest upon arrival at the destination or a suitable stopping place.

Any extended driving time must be compensated by an equivalent period of rest, taken en bloc before the end of the third week following the week in which the extended driving took place. The rest compensation can be taken with any rest period.

June 2022

2020   2026

4. Licences and tachographs for carriers with a fleet of 2.5 t to 3.5 t vehicles in international transport (June 2022)

The most important change for carriers managing a fleet of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes is the introduction of a permit to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, which has not been required until now.

After the entry into force of the Mobility Package, new obligations will be imposed on undertakings carrying out transport with vehicles with a GVW of 2.5-3.5 tonnes, such as:

Obtaining a permit to pursue the occupation of road transport operator obtaining a Community licence Demonstrating financial capacity at a certain level.

IMPORTANT!

The European Commission has set the level of financial security required at €1,800 for the first vehicle in the fleet and €900 for each additional vehicle. *Further information to follow * 

December 2024

2020  2026

5. Replacement of tachographs (December 2024 – July 2026)

The timeline for changes concerning these devices is as follows:

• Mandatory replacement of analogue and digital tachographs with 2nd generation smart tachographs – December 2024
• Obligation to store and present for inspection data from the tachograph for the day and preceding 56 days – December 2024
• Smart Tachograph V2 in new vehicles August 2023
• Mandatory replacement of 1st generation smart tachographs with 2nd generation smart tachographs – September 2025
• Mandatory use of tachographs and recording of working time and rest periods for drivers of vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in International transport – July 2026.

As a reminder, the new smart tachographs automatically record the position of the vehicle at successive points (or at the point closest to those where a GPS signal is available). In addition, to facilitate compliance check by control authorities, the tachograph shall record information on the purpose (transport of goods or passengers) for which the vehicle has been used.

This is why vehicles registered for the first time 36 months after the entry into force of the specific provisions in the Mobility Package will be equipped with tachographs connected to a GPS system.

The automatic recording of border crossings will apply to vehicles registered for the first time in a Member State, within two years of the entry into force of the specific rules.

Drivers will still have to record the country of start and end of daily working time, as they have done up to now, by entering the appropriate symbol on the tachograph. Each crossing of the border will be recorded by the driver entering the symbol of the country he entered. This must take place immediately after crossing the border, at the nearest possible stop. For smart tachographs, the country will be recorded automatically.

 Implementation of Tachograph

Implementing Act Smart Tacho V2	+12 months after entry into force of Tacho. Reg	August 2021
Smart Tacho V2 in new vehicles	+ 24 months	August 2023
Retrofit Of Analogue & Digital Tachograph	+ 40 months (3 years after end of year of adoption of implementing Act)	December 2024
Retrofit Smart Tacho V1	+ 48 months	September 2025
Smart Tacho V2 in LCVs		1st July 2026