Here is a condensed version of the information the government is currently releasing about Digital Tachos…the “horse’s mouth” version can be found at www.digitaltachograph.gov.uk although it is very long-winded, repetitive, and a touch on the condescending side (IMHO), so in this thread I’ll make the information a little less unwieldy…
This thread is aimed at drivers…I’ll do a separate one with the stuff for operators at some point in the near future.
As usual, I’ll post it in chunks for slightly easier reference (plus my connection isn’t great and I hate typing things twice! ).
OK…here goes…I’ll start with the dreaded Smart Cards, as a lot of the actual tacho stuff only makes sense if you know about the cards first…
Smart Cards[/b] What will I have to do to get one? * Who will issue the card? - DVLA, our good friends up at Swansea. * Do I have to get a Photocard Licence? - No, but the whole process will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes if you do…reason being that the Smart Cards will have a photo and electronic version of your signature on the just like the new licences…so if you still have a paper licence then you’ll have to go through all the rigmarole of sending in the photo, your passport (or whatever ID you use for such things), etc.etc.etc., whereas if you’ve got a photocard licence then you’re already halfway there, since they can just get it all off the database. The downside, of course, is that you end up paying twice…once for the licence change and again for a photocard. So it’s your call - but at least you get a choice! * How much will it cost? - I’ll quote directly here, for sheer amusement value…“DVLA are still deciding on the appropriate fee structure”… Take that as you will… * Will I need more than one? - No. You use the same card in any vehicle with a digital tachograph, be it a truck, a coach, or whatever. In fact, you will only be able to send off for one. Which vehicles will I have to use one in? - Anything which has a tacho in it…so anything over 3.5t, including a trailer. What will it look like? - From what I can gather, it’ll be just like a credit card, only with a chip rather than a magnetic strip. When will I have to get one? - Before the Digi-tachos start being used…which is a bit of an unknown at the moment. The government have promised us that they will be “available in good time”. So I’d expect a last minute dash, if I were you.
Who will own the Smart Card? - The Secretary of State for Transport, same as your driving licence. (I didn’t know that! )
Once I’ve got one, is that it, or will it need renewing? - I’m afraid the bad news here is that these things will expire after 5 years. (Photocard licences expire after 10 years, which is something else I didn’t know! )
What will happen (theoretically) is that DVLA will send you a reminder 3 months before it runs out. You then have to fill out the form again and get it back to them by 15 days before your card expires, in order to get a new one. There is no mention anywhere of there being a further fee to do this…but can you honestly see them missing an opportunity to lighten your wallet?
Can DVLA refuse to give me one? - Yes…the usual stuff really, so things like not having a valid driving licence, medical conditions, if you’re banned, etc.etc.etc
What if I lose my Smart Card, or if it gets stolen? - We-ll…hereby hangs a tale…
I looked up this pretty important bit of info, and it turns out that whoever put the site together has linked the wrong section in…something to do with fitters…so the answer to that is that at the moment I don’t know!!!
I’ll e-mail them and see what I can discover, then edit this bit accordingly…sorry!
What if I give up driving…can I send it back and get a refund? - Sadly not. You just put it in your undies drawer and forget about it.
Can they take it off me? - Yep. If someone else uses it, if you’ve lied on the forms, or used forged docs to get hold of a Smart Card, or if it has been “falsified” (whatever that means), then DVLA will the card will be withdrawn or suspended. The mind boggles!
Digital Tachgraphs[/i] Where will the card go in? - There’ll be 2 slots on the front of the tacho, marked “Driver 1” and “Driver 2”. For single-manning, you just use the “Driver 1” slot. If you’re double manning the person driving uses “1” and the other one uses “2”, then you swop them over when you swop drivers…same as now, basically. What happens if the card doesn’t work? - If your card packs in then you have to fill in the inevitable form and send both back to DVLA within 7 days. The new card will be sent to either your DVLA local office or the nearest VI office and you will have to pick it up in person. If you don’t send the card back then they’ll treat it as lost, and it’ll cost more for the replacement - which would hint that they are going to charge to replace the faulty ones too, although they don’t specifically say that. You can drive without a card for up to 15 days, but only to get the truck back to base. They don’t say what happens after that if your new card still hasn’t shown up - I think it’s fair to assume that you’re stuffed. What if I forget to take it to work? - You can’t drive the wagon. Game over. Do not pass go, do not collect £200. What if I drive 2 different motors in one day, and only one has a digi-tacho? - You use your smart card in one, and an ordinary paper card in the other. What if I start work before I actually get in the wagon? - You are supposed to enter the start time etc. manually, using buttons on the tacho, as soon as you get in the truck. What if I stop on and do some non-driving work at the end of my shift? - Again, you are supposed to do the manual thing. It doesn’t matter if someone else has headed out in the truck, either - you can put it in any digi-tacho to do the button pressing.
How does the stuff which currently goes in the “centre field” get put in? - Basically, most of the info will automatically be recorded - the truck will take some off your card, and the card will take some off the truck, until they both have everything.
The only bit which you’ll have to put in manually will be the location. Apparently everywhere will get given a code, and that’s what you punch into the tacho…so I guess those of us who tramp are going to be carrying 'round very big books, then!!!
How do I change mode? - Pressing buttons again.
Can I change the mode later, if I forgot to do it at the time? - No.
Can you tell if the tacho’s working, and what do I do if it’s not? - It will give you a fault code (just like a Scania nightheater!) if it’s given up the ghost…
Then it’s back to a good old-fashioned manual record.
How do I set the clock? - The recordings will all be made against a pre-set time scale (UTC, whatever that is…) which can’t be altered. You will be able to (guess what) press some buttons and change the time on the display, though.
Will we still be able to check our driving/break times? - Yes…there will be a display you can look at, or you can print the times out…using the inevitable buttons, naturally!
Will it warn me when my time’s running out? - Apparently so…15 minutes before your 4 1/2 runs out…presumably by setting off a bleeper, although I’m not 100% on that. There will definately be a warning of some sort, though.
What about off-road driving? - It’s those pesky buttons again! You’ll have to do it at the time as well…not later.
What about ferry and train crossings? - as above - again must be done at the time
What’s all this about printers…I thought the whole point of this was to get rid of all the paper? - So did I…but digital tachos will all have a printer built into them, and we will all have to cart about the paper for them…
Apparently (there are a lot of "apparently"s, aren’t there?) it’s there so you can do a printout if you have to run without a card - ie.if it’s lost/stolen/cream crackered etc., and you are running home to apply for a new one. It’s also there so that the info can be printed off for checking, too.
Let me get this right…both the truck and my smart card will be recording and storing all the info, yeah? - That’s about the size of it…so there’ll be no scope for the less scrupulous types to run card-less and not have their miles/times recorded anywhere…The card records 28 days gumph, whilst the motor will record for up to a year before it starts overwriting. There’ll also be an encryption device between the two, so you can’t interfere with the signal there, and another one between the tacho and the gearbox.
What happens if the the Police etc. want to check my card? - The Police/VI/etc will have their own card which they can use to copy the records onto, either off your card or off the vehicle’s memory - probably both, so they can compare them. They can then download it all on the spot to have a look.
How do I see what’s on my card? - One of three ways:
By bringing it up on the tacho display (dare I say it…buttons!).
By printing it off.
By getting it downloaded.
Is it up to me to download it all? - Only if you want to. It’s the operator’s job to download the bits he/she needs for the records.
Can my boss hang onto my card? - NO! It must always stay with you. I’ll get into the ins and outs of how the downloading is done when I do the “Operators” version of this thread.
What about Agency drivers? - You use the card just like any other driver. The company you are driving for can download the info either at the end of each day, or at the end of the assignment.
As I’ve already said, I’ll cover the bits about how the cards etc. actually get downloaded when I do the “Operators” thread, so watch this space on that…
I’ll also update and add to this as and when I find out more, so do keep checking back.
( This has taken longer than I anticipated! I’m off to bed! )
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(Photocard licences expire after 10 years, which is something else I didn’t know! 
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