i understand that all activites should be recorded on the tacho inc getting keys how ever lets suppose that im due to start at 7 and i get my keys at 6:58 i dont wish to start till 7pm so i put my card in at 7. yes i do manual entry for the time taken to return the keys and clock out at the end of the previous shift and the rest period then set it to other work for doing checks etc. however the print out will show that the card went in at 7 so technically i haven’t accounted for the time to get the keys as i cant put my card in till i have the keys. should i wait till 7:02 to put the card then rest till 7 and other work till 7:02
Are you being paid for those two minutes or is pay simply rounded to the nearest 5 or even 15 minute period? I wouldn’t worry about such small increments, DVSA aren’t quite the N-azis they’re made out to be.
For instance, missing miles on a the VU need to be accounted for, quite understandably. But they’re only interested in missing mileages that exceed 5km. Similarly with recording your activities, they want reasonable records for “measurable amounts” which they have previously suggested are five minute intervals.
EDIT: that came from a guy called Juan Maddrell, who was Policy Advisor at what was then VOSA, now DVSA. I’d be surprised if they’ve deviated from that in the past 10 years since their name change
If I’m starting (from base) to use your example at 7am then my card goes in at 7am to match my time sheet. Any time pre 7am that I may spend drinking coffee or shooting the breeze I’m not getting paid for so I’ll not account for it with a manual entry.
If I’m away in the truck overnight again I’ll not do a manual entry except “rest until now?” Which I’ll confirm and that’s it.
A tacho record should show 24 hours including daily rest period and other work.
If the chart/card is left in the truck during your daily rest period the mode switch shows the differences and when.If not it needs to be accurate manual entries.If you collect the keys for the truck from the office that’s obviously other work not daily rest period.
How do you know this? ^^ or is it something you overheard last century?
He had me at chart 
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According to the general advice a digital tacho uses manual entries to record activities away from the vehicle just like the back of a paper chart of an old school tacho.
Good luck with recording collecting the keys from the office as daily rest.Or not showing any record of a daily rest period at all.
Have you ever driven a truck with an electronic tacho, or used one?
See, what you’ve done here is your tried and trusted method of arguing about pretty much anything you have absolutely no experience of; what you do is hear a snippet of conversation or maybe something written on a forum by people who actually do the job day in day out. You’ve then interpreted that snippet (perhaps injecting some weird twist depending on your particular brand of insanity on the day) and you then run with what you have convinced yourself is the only true way.
Time and time again on any subject whatsoever this I am convinced is your method.
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A bit harsh, Mr. M, he is funny, in a Frank Spencer sort of way.
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What’s the relevance v making accurate manual entries being required in the case of either type ?.
Technically you need ‘lead-in’ time, yes. However, as we have established from numerous esteemed members, many haven’t ever done a manual entry and seem to have managed many many years without their worlds caving in. So best advice is probably to do what is the normal practice at your place.
Some places might not have a clock-in facility so they may well see your card going in as you starting. If you do that, definitely don’t move the truck for 7-8 minutes.
People worry themselves into a frenzy needlessly over stuff like this. DVSA and the Police are NOT robots working to some algorithm! If your start time is for example 7am and your card goes in the slot at 7am then trust me, nobody is ever going to ask you about the preceding 10/15/20 minutes since you left your car in the car park.
Can you imagine DVSA trying to prosecute someone for picking their keys up and not declaring that as other work? Anyone sensible would elect to go to court over it. The magistrate who is more used to dealing with shoplifters and drunk and disorderly would ask DVSA why you were here, they’d say “well he/she picked their keys and paperwork up at 0655 and didn’t insert their card until 0700, it’s a heinous crime your Honour “. The drivers response would be “my start time was 0700, my tachograph records clearly show that I started at 0700 so I fail to see the problem “. The magistrate undoubtedly would respond with “yes, quite. Case dismissed. By the way Mr DVSA I’d like a quiet word with you about wasting the courts time”.
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Glad there aint just me who does not give a toss about all this type of trivial dog sh.
I stay 100% legal, or try to, but I dont go all ‘time of the month’ if I happen to do some kind of minor tacho misdemeanour.
I’ve been stopped numerous times in the past, and always been ok (post owner driver period…obvs 
)
I also get the odd infringement now and again, but always accompanied with a print out explanation, so my ‘not taking all this sh too seriously’’ approach seems to be working of so far.
I do get amused listening to grown men worrying like little girls over some tacho triviality though.
Sorry if I have hit a raw nerve and if somebody is offended by that btw.
Not 
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Don’t underestimate the motivation for these jobsworths to make a mountain out of a molehill if and when they’ve got nothing better to do.It’s quite possible that they will try to construe a small issue, regarding where daily rest period ends and start of work begins, as an insufficient daily rest or much worse a false record of daily rest periods.
If you’re tramping they can and do ask for an onboard tacho record covering 24 hours including daily rest.If not they’ll ask for a manual entry of same.Collecting the keys for the truck from storage definitely isn’t daily rest.I’ve never made a log book or a tacho record that didn’t cover 24 hours with an accurate time of when I started work and collecting the keys from storage would fit the definition of pre trip vehicle checks.
Considering what most people believe to be true about your working history, that is easily understood, albeit in different terms
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Saved me typing similar.
@carryfast How many times in the past one, two and five years have you been wheeled in for a Heavy Vehicle Compliance check?
If the answer to all comes to the sum of less than zero, your comments are irrelevant dog excrement, come to think of it…
@robroy, you couldn’t be a corporate plobber. Alleging feminity and that sort of thing could lead you to an early visit to the jobcentre these days.
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I’ll take my chance. 
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You just seem to bang that drum quite often that is all. I suppose it is for others to decide if you protest too much.