The past few weeks I’ve been working for a sub-contractor doing Amazon trunk runs from Surrey to Leicestershire. They got four nice new DAF tractors a few weeks ago which are a treat to drive. However, the tacho has been telling me my card is due for a download and when I mentioned this to the boss, I was told the trucks do it automatically. I looked in the manual and discovered that these new tachos can download your card but you need a key which isn’t in the truck. The company has another operating centre near Heathrow which has a downloader but there isn’t one here.
Is this boss talking out of his hat? I’ve never heard of trucks automatically downloading and downloading the tacho data is a separate task from downloading my card. I told my agency and they told me they’d raise it in a meeting with him yesterday but I’ve heard nothing back.
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Not your problem. Your only obligation as a driver is to make your card available for download.
Harry Monk:
Not your problem. Your only obligation as a driver is to make your card available for download.
I thought there was a mandatory download every 28 days.
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Driver responsibilities:
Using a digital driver card to record all work and driving
Making sure the card and tachograph is working correctly
Only holding one card (unless within one month of expiry, when two cards can be held)
Allowing employers to download driver data from card
Applying for a replacement card if lost, stolen, damaged or malfunctioning within 7 days.
Whilst waiting for the new card to arrive, taking print-outs at the start and end of each working day
Not using anyone else’s card or be in possession of forged or altered card
Not recording false data or destroying any data on the card
Carrying the card at all times when working
Producing the card for DVSA officers or the police when requested
Transport Operator responsibilities:
Making sure all drivers do all of the above
Having a company card to download the recorded tachograph data
Downloading driver data at least every 28 days
Downloading vehicle data from the tachograph at least every 56 days
Analysing the tachograph data to ensure rules have not been broken or breached
Making sure the tachograph is equipment is working correctly
Making sure the tachograph is calibrated every 2 years
Making sure any defective tachograph is repaired without delay
You can have a set up that allows remote download as soon as you enter your yard, it requires something fitted to the tacho and the receiver in the yard.
Our compliance clerk was trying to get the go ahead to have ours set up for remote download as it saves time and hassle having to download the tacho heads at the frequency we have to do it.
But as usual it’s cost and better for people to have to climb in and out of trucks and sit waiting for it to download onto the download key then onto the next one.
Where the remote download system would do it as soon as the trucks pull into the yard and requires no manual interference.
My Scania has a button next to the tacho. I never knew what it did and, as you do, I pressed it to find out and it did nothing so just assumed it was nothing.
Turns out after pouring through the manual it’s a button for a remote tacho download but my lot don’t subscribe to it apparently.
My head office in Barcelona automatically download my card if its inserted or the tacho unit .
You get a little symbol of a turning stick and thats it. Makes life very simple.