This morning my Digicard decided to die on me coming up with card error 50 on the tacho machine I tried it on few vehicles and the reader in the office to no avail. I have sent it off now so hopefully a replacement will come soon.
My question I have is today whilst driving without my card I recorded my breaks, other work etc using the tacho machine itself and did a vehicle printout at the start and end of my shift. When returning to the office I was told I should’ve recorded my work using the grid on the back of my printout drawing a stupid line like a 2 year old. When I asked if the way I did it was ok I was told I would probably get away with it which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but surely the way I did it actually records a much more detailed view as you cant fake how much driving time you did as it is automatically recorded once the vehicle starts moving.
Can anyone shed any light on whether VOSA or the police would have a problem with the way I recorded my working time?
tris123:
This morning my Digicard decided to die on me coming up with card error 50 on the tacho machine I tried it on few vehicles and the reader in the office to no avail. I have sent it off now so hopefully a replacement will come soon.
My question I have is today whilst driving without my card I recorded my breaks, other work etc using the tacho machine itself and did a vehicle printout at the start and end of my shift. When returning to the office I was told I should’ve recorded my work using the grid on the back of my printout drawing a stupid line like a 2 year old. When I asked if the way I did it was ok I was told I would probably get away with it which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but surely the way I did it actually records a much more detailed view as you cant fake how much driving time you did as it is automatically recorded once the vehicle starts moving.
Can anyone shed any light on whether VOSA or the police would have a problem with the way I recorded my working time?
The way you did it was correct, whoever told you to draw on the back of a printout is talking nonsense.
If your driver card is lost stolen or faulty you should do vehicle printouts at the start and end of the shift and write on them your name or card/licence number and sign it, job done.
[u]Page 37[/u] - Rules on Drivers Hours and Tachographs
You may want to give the above link to whoever told you to draw lines on a printout 
By the way, whenever I’ve had error code 50 a quick clean of the card memory chip with a clean soft cloth has cured the problem.
It was one of the transport managers 
but these same transport managers say you must have a 30 minute break after 6 hours work not 15 minutes. I thought there would be no reason to duplicate the record as the unit records all the time anyway. I did try to clean the card as much as possible but it still made no difference.
I think the only times you would do a written record on the back would be to correct an error (e.g. Wrong mode selected), to explain why you had to deviate from the Regs or if the unit itself has become faulty.
Roymondo:
I think the only times you would do a written record on the back would be to correct an error (e.g. Wrong mode selected), to explain why you had to deviate from the Regs or if the unit itself has become faulty.
But even to do that you wouldn’t have to use the grid on the back of the tacho paper would you?
Just to confirm Tachograph I would use the grid on the tacho paper say for example recording the time between me leaving the vehicle and getting to the office/finishing paperwork as I would be away from the vehicle? Just making sure I fully understand what its there for.
tris123:
Just to confirm Tachograph I would use the grid on the tacho paper say for example recording the time between me leaving the vehicle and getting to the office/finishing paperwork as I would be away from the vehicle?
Yes that’s right, it’s basically the same as doing a manual entry on the back of an analogue tachograph chart, whenever you need to manually write an activity you draw lines in the appropriate boxes on the back of the chart/printout.
To be honest I’m not sure if anyone would bother if you just wrote the times on the back of the printout, but personally I’d do it by the book and draw the lines in the boxes and write the times down as bellow.
08:00 to 08:20 = other work
08:20 to 0835 = break
As long as you use the tachograph in the usual way to record your activities the end of shift vehicle printout will show your shift and all the activities automatically recorded, any time that you’re unable to use the mode switch will mean drawing/writing on the back of the printout.
I doubt it’s as easy to do on a printout as a chart, but be sure than any writing on the back of the printouts doesn’t go through and make the front of the printout unreadable.
tris123:
Roymondo:
I think the only times you would do a written record on the back would be to correct an error (e.g. Wrong mode selected), to explain why you had to deviate from the Regs or if the unit itself has become faulty.
But even to do that you wouldn’t have to use the grid on the back of the tacho paper would you?
Just to confirm Tachograph I would use the grid on the tacho paper say for example recording the time between me leaving the vehicle and getting to the office/finishing paperwork as I would be away from the vehicle? Just making sure I fully understand what its there for.
No - in those circumstances you would normally use the “manual entry” facility (i.e. use the buttons on the tacho head).
You would use the grid on the back of a printout after the event if you had e.g. accidentally forgotten to switch modes from Other Work to Break or POA, or you were working away from the vehicle and so could not change the mode switch. You would also use the grid if you became “trapped” in traffic and so had to extend your driving time past 4.5 hours, or some other “unforseen occurence” made it necessary for you to exceed a working/driving/rest limit, or if the head unit itself became faulty and stopped recording.
A before and after printout x 2 one for you one for the office .
If the tacho will do a printout with a detailed activity ( think the newone’s will ) do this too x 2 .
Put your details on all printouts .
IF your tach will NOT do a detailed printout you will need to line draw on the back of the printout’s of your work…
Roymondo:
tris123:
Roymondo:
I think the only times you would do a written record on the back would be to correct an error (e.g. Wrong mode selected), to explain why you had to deviate from the Regs or if the unit itself has become faulty.
But even to do that you wouldn’t have to use the grid on the back of the tacho paper would you?
Just to confirm Tachograph I would use the grid on the tacho paper say for example recording the time between me leaving the vehicle and getting to the office/finishing paperwork as I would be away from the vehicle? Just making sure I fully understand what its there for.
No - in those circumstances you would normally use the “manual entry” facility (i.e. use the buttons on the tacho head).
How do you use the manual entry facility without a driver card being inserted ?
If the OP had a driver card that worked this thread wouldn’t exist 
nick2008:
A before and after printout x 2 one for you one for the office .
If the tacho will do a printout with a detailed activity ( think the newone’s will ) do this too x 2 .
Put your details on all printouts .
IF your tach will NOT do a detailed printout you will need to line draw on the back of the printout’s of your work…
I think you’ll find that all digital tachographs do detailed vehicle printouts that show all the vehicles activities and always have done
The VU records everything the vehicle does and those records will remain in the VU for at-least 365 days, the vehicle printouts comes from the data that’s stored in the VU.
I agree about doing 2 start of shift and 2 end of shift printouts though, unless of course the company want to keep the paper usage to a minimum and are happy to wait 28 days for the printouts to be handed in.
tachograph:
nick2008:
A before and after printout x 2 one for you one for the office .
If the tacho will do a printout with a detailed activity ( think the newone’s will ) do this too x 2 .
Put your details on all printouts .
IF your tach will NOT do a detailed printout you will need to line draw on the back of the printout’s of your work…
I think you’ll find that all digital tachographs do detailed vehicle printouts that show all the vehicles activities and always have done
The VU records everything the vehicle does and those records will remain in the VU for at-least 365 days, the vehicle printouts comes from the data that’s stored in the VU.
I agree about doing 2 start of shift and 2 end of shift printouts though, unless of course the company want to keep the paper usage to a minimum and are happy to wait 28 days for the printouts to be handed in.
I only found the detailed printout in Vehicle print outs a few months ago 
Thanks Tachograph once again you are a fountain of knowledge 
. Are there any CPC courses aimed at new drivers to help with situations such as these that don’t come around often but as a driver you need to know? As I have my initial CPC my company is not bothered about putting me on any courses until nearer my CPC expiry date but as a new driver there is a huge gap between what I learnt on CPC/driving licence training and the real trucking world (and transport managers teaching bad habits don’t help either!).
I have these books which are a huge help - amazon.co.uk/Official-Guide- … ds=dsa+hgv but there is only so much info you can put in a book.
You’re asking me about DCPC courses
Do you have any idea how much I despise the DCPC in it’s current form 
Seriously though, why not just study the VOSA booklet “Rules on Drivers Hours and Tachographs”, also, browse the forums here (especially the Safety , Law and Working Time Directive Forum) and I’m sure you will learn plenty and not have to pay for it, feel free to ask questions about anything you’re not sure about.
The best way to learn is through open debate and discussion, not only is it free but I believe you’re more likely to remember what’s being discussed