Drivers and their employers are legally required [ where?] to accurately record their activities, retain the records (files from internal memory and from driver cards must both be retained) and produce them on demand to transport authorities who are in charge of enforcing regulations governing drivers' working hours. [ citation needed] Next month, we will be looking in depth at the symbols (pictograms) you come across on the digital tachograph screens, and what they mean. Useful Resources

Events that take place, like Card Inserted whilst driving, as well as any faults that happen during the journey.

Types of tachograph

An easy way to evaluate your vehicle and which set of rules applies to it, is to run through the following points: The daily driving limit differs to other ruling, the driver cannot drive for more than 10 hours per day.

Drivers who have interrupted their rest period to attend to an emergency at work must complete another rest period before starting work again. Regulations on drivers’ hours have been put in place first and foremost to ensure that roads are safe for all drivers. Secondly, they are there to ensure that work is being carried out correctly by all employees, for both the protection of their rights and of the company. So, what is a digital tachograph? Everyone who uses a tachograph should know the symbols used. Every symbol depicts a different driver status and helps a driver to prevent accidental infringements. If you don’t have a good knowledge of these symbols, it becomes very hard to make proper use of a tachograph. In addition to the key symbols, different brands of tachographs make use of a more or less different set of symbols. Every driver needs to know the specific set that is applicable to the tachograph he or she uses. Any mistake might result in safety risks as well as infringements which could result in fines. Digital tachographs use driving symbols to show the different driver statuses during working hours. This is to make sure that the drivers don’t infringe the laws around their drive and rest times.

What is a tachograph?

enter centrefield details at the first use of the chart, when changing vehicles and when completing the use of the chart (see ‘Centrefield entries’ section) verify, before using the tachograph, that it is correctly calibrated via the attached plaques and ensure that the time displayed is set to the official time of the country in which the vehicle is registered Manual entries may also be needed at other times – for example, if the tachograph develops a fault or in the event of an emergency see Unforeseen events. Employers may also ask drivers to indicate on a chart where their duty (or rest) begins and ends, so that they can ensure a full record has been submitted. Drivers must manually enter their details onto an analogue tachograph. They do this by writing their work mode onto a sheet of wax paper. This must then be physically put into the device at the start of their shift. It is illegal to drive a passenger or goods’ vehicle without the use of a driver card. If this has not been inserted in advance of starting a journey, it is be recorded for analysis and the driver can be fined or worse. How long do you need to keep your digital tachograph records?