We have been having tacho infringement reports from an analysis company for a while, the sign & return thing.
I have been dutifully doing as asked as I have only ever had very minor stuff pointed out.
I recently recieved a letter from my employer (addressed to all drivers) telling me/us that the infringement report was a legal document & must be signed by law.
Is this true?
I believe it to be part of the regulations. Hanley’s do the same with us.
if it is then i would assume it is merely there to cover arses ie to show VOSA that they do have a system in place highlighting infringements to drivers. i doubt the purpose is anything more than that
only sign it if you know that its you whos done it.
i;e (someone driving your motor when your off)
My lot said i had a tacho infringement but i couldnt work out what it was implying so i said i wasnt signing it.
Tony b
And if you get one that says you’ve exceeded the 90kph limit,when in fact in British law,you can do 96kph, (60mph) do you sign it?
Ken.
scanny77:
if it is then i would assume it is merely there to cover arses ie to show VOSA that they do have a system in place highlighting infringements to drivers. i doubt the purpose is anything more than that
That about sums it up, it should also be used as driver training, to show them where they have gone wrong. If you don’t agree you should sign it to say as such, then it is down to the TM to sort it out and either explain it to you or for him to eat humble pie 
As i understood it an operator has to show that they check tachos and that they have pointed out any errors to you. The idea of signing it is to prove that you have seen it, hence your employer can then prove they’ve shown the infringments to you.
Has you current employer ever given you training in how to fill out Tacho’s? If they havent just sign them all, because there’s nothing they could do about it if they havent given you training. Even if you know all about Tacho’s you can use the not trained excuse.
Thanks very much for the replies 
No I haven’t recieved any tacho training from my current employer. Having said that, the infringements are basically things like my name went slightly outside the allowed area, the date was smudged (illegible) etc. Nothing serious (although still probably a fine or two).
I just wondered how they can class these as legal documents when I thought it was the tacho itself that was the only (legal) document vosa etc relied on?
Basically what I’m asking is can I get in trouble with the law for not signing this sheet or is it just to cover the companys arse?
Melchett:
I just wondered how they can class these as legal documents when I thought it was the tacho itself that was the only document vosa etc relied on?Basically what I’m asking is can I get in trouble with the law for not signing this sheet or is it just to cover the companys arse?
i cant see it being a legal document myself. i would have thought it is evidence of a system and nothing more. basically, VOSA check a few tachos and discover a few minor infringements which are pointed out to the TM. he says i know about it and we have pulled the drivers up for them. here is the proof. VOSA go away quite happy and the company avoid the TC breathing down their necks.
the only training i have had is a refresher on artics which consisted of 3 odd days out with different drivers. officially, i have no idea what the WTD is even though i probably know more about it than anyone i work with
Quinny:
And if you get one that says you’ve exceeded the 90kph limit,when in fact in British law,you can do 96kph, (60mph) do you sign it?Ken.
hi ken
our speeding is only for exceeding 100kph ,stating the reason might be a speed limiter fault 
no its called gravity
jon
dennisw1:
As i understood it an operator has to show that they check tachos and that they have pointed out any errors to you. The idea of signing it is to prove that you have seen it, hence your employer can then prove they’ve shown the infringments to you.
Don’t know for sure but I would have thought that the above is the nub of the matter. In that case is there room to sign after writing a short sentence like ‘I confirm that I have read and understood this’ ? If so, this confirms just that and is not an admission of any transgression.
Salut, David.
to be on the safe side, sign e.presley
Tell them to get stuffed as they are asking you to sign a document admitting guilt. This in itself is against the law and unfringing your human rights.
So dont sign it!!!
Spacemonkeypg:
Tell them to get stuffed as they are asking you to sign a document admitting guilt. This in itself is against the law and unfringing your human rights.So dont sign it!!!
In theory you are correct. But NIP’s for speed/red light cameras ask exactly the same and if you dont admit your guilt they will give you an equal or even more severe penalty than the original offence. 
Toploadertom:
In theory you are correct. But NIP’s for speed/red light cameras ask exactly the same and if you dont admit your guilt they will give you an equal or even more severe penalty than the original offence.
In theory you are correct TLT. But a NIP is a legal document. These tacho analysis reports are only reports, they are not legal documents.
but they are kept on your file, so in theroy vosa can come in and take a look anytime they feel.
jon
Basically…dont do anything thats only to protect the boss…however if these forms are part of your job…then it makes no difference…only to get up the bosses nose that you are a nuisance etc…but saying that i did a naughty thing 2 weeks ago where i did a 19 hour stint…totally against my principles…however…the boss asked for my tachos…and i told him they were scattered along either the A1 or the M1…told him i couldnt remember…he went ballistic…but i pointed out that evidence on tachos would incriminate me…but lack of tachos would incriminate him… and i would swear blind that i always handed them in, fortunately the daily work sheets do not include hours worked…only the jobs done…and i omitted them as well…so i told him politely that if he wanted a full weeks tachos…to please not ask me to run bent…hopefully job solved…
I used to do a double man run to Milan for a SE London company, we both used to put the start mileage on our tachos and when we arrived, put the finish mileage in…the problem being that either one of the tachos would only show the hours driven by that individual driver…Mine would show that I had booked on in London, driven 8 or 9 hours overall then booked off in Milan with the relevant end mileage…according to the tacho annalysis reports, either one of us were managing to cover the distance to Milan from London in the two and abit 4 hour driving periods!!! 
…average speeds were about 110 MILES per hour
Then the bone headed TM (yes you Russ) expected us to sign the reports highlighting these “infringments”
The rule is that the company have to draw your attention to any of your Tach ‘O’ infringements which have been pulled by the company that does the Tach ‘O’ checks, several months ago I was pulled for sixteen in one hit. The companies that do the checks do not know the back end of a Skoda or a Atki, next week they might be checking the price of Fish. I sorted my own problem out in two easy strokes by taking fifty minute breaks and four hour twenty minutes driving and to date I’m squeaky clean, for god’s sake bring back log sheets, 
th things arent fool proof
i had one come back with 6 hours something driving between 6pm and 1am. checked the tacho and i didnt start till 2.30 am
work that out
jon