Tacho date stays but flexible approach is confirmed
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EU transport commissioner Jacques Barrot has confirmed that member states will be given until January 1, 2006 to run analogue and digital tachographs together.
The commission is, however, maintaining the date of August 5, 2005, which is legally binding, but it will now be combined with a period of toleration running up to January 1, 2006, due to the delays experienced across Europe regarding the issue of smart cards and availability of digital tachograph devices.
Until January 1 analogue tachographs may still be used by any operator without sanction. Barrot has announced that he will advise member states of this by letter.
What this does is extend the current moratorium across the 25 member states on enforcement until January 1. It does not affect the legal date for mandatory fitment, which will still be subject to a conciliation process.
However, it does mean it is less likely (although still not impossible!) that members who are international operators will receive a penalty for not having a digital tachograph fitted when operating vehicles abroad that were registered after August 5.
It must be stressed that this is only a postponement: August 5 remains the date on which all trucks equipped with a digital tachograph are recognised as complying with European legislation.
However, up until January 1 trucks that do not have a digital tachograph fitted, irrespective of their date of registration, should not have offence procedures launched against the driver or the operator by any member state's enforcement bodies.
