What's happening in the future for Heavy Goods Vehicle Driving?

What's happening in the future for Heavy Goods Vehicle Driving?

2019 will see a new generation of tachograph that includes a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) source to produce a location stamp at the start and end of driving and at three hourly intervals, a wireless enforcement function to communicate to enforcement officers possible manipulation (but not driving and break data), and the integration with Intelligent Transport Systems such as telematics equipment.

What does this mean to me?

Operators and drivers will undoubtedly have concerns about what is effectively 'another pair of eyes' interrogating the tachograph. But don't worry enforcement officers will not be able to access a full download of a Vehicle Unit (VU) or your tacho card.

The new units are simply designed to check that the tachograph understands that the vehicle is moving and that your tacho card has been inserted, see any time adjustments and calibration data, and the speed recorded by the digital tachograph and the vehicle registration number. 

The next generation digital tachographs will also give examiners some basic indications on compliance which will help them decide whether to stop a driver for a full roadside check.

What are the benefits?

Roadside enforcement teams will be greatly assisted by the new digital tachographs as they will be able to access details of the latest attempted security breaches, the longest power supply interruption, sensor faults, motion data errors and any vehicle motion conflicts.

The new tachograph will help crack down on fraud.

The DVSA occasionally discover fraudulent devices designed to modify records or data to cover up substantial numbers of journeys on public roads.  But increasingly they are conducting large scale investigations involving several drivers and large amounts of missing mileage, which is sometimes drivers creating false records, but more often down to poor record checking and tachograph data not matching up with time sheets.

When will I be affected by the changes?

As new vehicles from 2019 onwards come off the production line they will be fitted with these next generation tachograph units, and for enforcement purposes, the fitting of the new tachographs in existing vehicles will not be mandatory for 15 years. So you might be working with the new equipment in a couple of years’ time.

Something to look forward to in the every developing world of logistics!