had a chat with the transport manager, explained about it being a 3.5ton van and being exempt, he said it was a company infringement and shouldnt be a problem with vosa, providing i could prove to them it was a 3.5ton
anyway ill keep the printout with me - ive written on the back and ill be extra careful not to get any more.
thanks for the info tachograph, but im sure if i start messing about with the tachos in the trucks ill be in even worse trouble with the company so best to leave alone!
anyone know about the 3.5ton vans coming into drivers hours / tacho rules or is it just hearsay?
hi guys, a little advice needed
probably worrying about nothing.
i usually drive 7.5ton trucks through agency
today i was sent out in a 3.5ton truck with a digi tacho.
im usually very carefull with my breaks and not had a single infringement in 6months
today i took a 15min break early on then wanted to get to aknown snack bar for my 2nd break, was up to 4hrs on tacho but satnav said 15mins away so thought i was fine.
traffic was really bad stop start etc, kept checking the time creeping up but didnt want to stop and then stop again when i reached the destination
i puuled up to the layby just as the tacho beeped again, put it on break and it said 4hrs 31mins on driving.
had my break finished my shift went back to yard and got card downloaded
oh dear you have an infringement youll be getting a letter he said, (although jokingly) i explained what had happened and questioned about the fact i was in a 3.5ton.
he said didnt matter as it all goes on the card
i was wondering what the situation is does it still count as i believed less than 3.5ton were exempt or is it a case of if tacho is fitted it has to be used.
am i in any trouble with the company, agency, vosa
also ive heard from other drivers that the trucks are fitted with tacho as smaller trucks will no longer be exempt after 2014 was wondering if anyone can confirm or deny this
many thanks
Id say you have nothing to worry about, i got stopped by vosa the day after i did 4 hours 42 driving before my 45 and close on my 10 hour limit by the end of it.
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The EU regulations cover vehicles where the MAM exceeds 3.5 tonnes, assuming that the vehicle you were driving was not in this category you should have had the tachograph on “out of scope”.
However I think your best bet now would be to do a printout and write the details of the vehicle on it to show that the vehicle was in fact not in-scope of the EU regulations, in fact do two printouts and hand one in to your tacho person and keep the other with you in case you get stopped.
The person who told you that you would get an infringement needs to learn the regulations, having said that most analyst companies seem to ignore any manual entries on printouts even if they see it which they probably won’t 
thanks for the replies
how do i put the tacho on “out of scope”
pcmpaul:
thanks for the replies
how do i put the tacho on “out of scope”
If it’s a Siemens digital tachograph:
- With the ignition on press “OK”
- Use the arrow buttons to scroll down the menu to “Entry Vehicle” and press “OK”
- The first option should be “OUT begin” press “OK”
- Press the back button (back arrow) to leave the menu and return to the standard display.
To put the vehicle back in-scope repeat 1 to 4 above but when you get to the last option (4) the display should say “OUT end”.
If you want practice you could try it on the Digital Tachograph Simulator
Good luck 