Do you use a digital tachograph in the course of your daily driving? I’m writing an article for Truck & Driver magazine on how well the new digital tachos have gone down with drivers since their introduction almost a year ago, and would like to hear from any driver - on or off the record - who’s got something to say about them.
If you’d like to add to the debate and can spare me a few minutes on the phone sometime in the next couple of weeks to provide some feedback on your experiences for inclusion in the article, then please send a private message with your contact details and I’ll get back to you.
I’m interested in finding out how easy you’ve found it to make the switch to digital equipment, how much training (if any!) you got, whether you still use old-style analogue equipment too, and what your biggest concerns or issues with the new equipment might be.
Your comments can be completely anonymous so please don’t be shy - Truck & Driver wants to know what you really think!
(Thanks to Lucy for her kind permission to post this request… )
Should have invented then years ago .
I think they are brilliant , impossible to pick up any kind of infringement with them , not unless you really want one .
I spent 6 hours training and then the next night i was out on the road with one . I prefer them to analogue , i complain if i get an analogue truck .
With all the built in timers that can be shown on screen to show you drive time and break time that is totally accurate i think it’s the best driver aid i’ve had in years . A massive help to keep you in line with legislation .
I use one practically every night and i like them .
I havent used one yet and intend to quit driving and hopefully follow a new career in warehousing, so hopefully I will never use one so I dont know if they are good or bad.
get to use one for the 1st time tommorow, have i been trained ,NO, in theory i was going to be given a quick show today when picking up new waggon but as it wasnt legal to go i didnt go, i think itll come down as per usual , own intiative and paul .m,s step by step guide i printed off .
as paul says its a great bit of kit. the one in the volvo is fantastic just a few button presses after you’ve inserted your card and your away.
the scania one on the other hand is a pain in the arse comparded and it wants to no everything apart from your inside leg measurements.
the downside is when you get a analogue vehicle to drive for the night and you have to carry one tacho around in a envelope for 2 weeks till you have to hand it in . thats if you remember you got that 1 tacho in the first place
the built in stop watch is also a plus point but its also the case of remembering that poa and break resets your driving time as well. but if you keep on top of it you cant go wrong.
if it was up to me thats all i would drive (next year it will be as we only got 7 more with analogue which are due to be replaced)
paul@midway:
Should have invented then years ago .
I think they are brilliant , impossible to pick up any kind of infringement with them , not unless you really want one .
I spent 6 hours training and then the next night i was out on the road with one . I prefer them to analogue , i complain if i get an analogue truck .
With all the built in timers that can be shown on screen to show you drive time and break time that is totally accurate i think it’s the best driver aid i’ve had in years . A massive help to keep you in line with legislation .
I use one practically every night and i like them .
I think Paul likes 'em!
Got a card, but none of our vehicles have them yet. Won’t be long now though.
If you move 3 feet and stop it will record a full minute of driving, so doing a bit of shunting say thats took you 5 mins could easily go down as over 10 on the dig.
Not bad devices if you are on them constantly but if you chop and change trucks then bit more of a pain. Im still not sure what you ment to do say if you start on a frisby then some hours later need to get in a digy truck. What you ment to do sit there telling it what youve done for the last six hours work/breaks/poa/driving. Surely thats creating two tachos for one day? Its not so bad going the otherway dig to frisby, dig get printout and card go to frisby and drive all the infos on the card and printout so keep within rules etc ok. But im baffled going the other way Frisby first dig second andone know for sure?
I have asked our boss but despite going on a course he dont know!
ady1:
get to use one for the 1st time tommorow, have i been trained ,NO, in theory i was going to be given a quick show today when picking up new waggon but as it wasnt legal to go i didnt go, i think itll come down as per usual , own intiative and paul .m,s step by step guide i printed off .
Used one last week for the first time NO training just Paul@midways insructions which to be honest were easier to follow than the manafacturers guide that the customer gave me.
Imp:
Im still not sure what you ment to do say if you start on a frisby then some hours later need to get in a digy truck. What you ment to do sit there telling it what youve done for the last six hours work/breaks/poa/driving. Surely thats creating two tachos for one day? Its not so bad going the otherway dig to frisby, dig get printout and card go to frisby and drive all the infos on the card and printout so keep within rules etc ok. But im baffled going the other way Frisby first dig second andone know for sure?
I have asked our boss but despite going on a course he dont know!
From analogue to digi .
Put your card in, the head will ask for a manual entry .The answer is No as you already have your activity logged on the wax chart .Drive away .
Used mine for the first time on Friday no hassle after reading Paul’s instructions - better than the chart as you are not looking for pens and trying to squeeze all the info in. Just print out the info at the end - I think they are really good.
it’s easy to use but i think there is plenty of scope for improvement.
the readout could be better with an option to display accumulated driving time for the day, week, fortnight.
instead you have to either print off and add up or display and add up, there is no warning for a 13 hour day or 15 hour day, there is no warning for a 9 hour drive or 10 hour drive and as it steals time from you if you stop and start a lot or get stuck in traffic you can easily run over your total driving time.
i had been using it for 2 weeks before i downloaded my card and my boss informed me i had done 3 10 hour driving periods on both weeks - as i also use a driver hour guard i knew i hadn’t but i switch the mode on the hour guard as soon as i stop but the digital tacho runs on for another minute in drive mode, stop 30 times and it’s accumulated 30 minutes of extra driving time when you may not have been in the truck at all for those odd minutes.
i now let my hour guard run on for a few extra minutes before i move the truck and if i get stuck in traffic and am sat for 3 or 4 minutes at a time i leave the hour guard running so i stay below the hours i think i have driven.
i have also run over the 4.5 hours driving by a few minutes on a couple of occassions due to not being able to reach somewhere to stop in time - usually due to heavy traffic etc. there is nowhere to write this down like i could with the analogue (on the reverse) instead i have to make a note or do a print off and write on that then hope that when my boss saves the information he remembers to put in the reason for the infringement.
i like it but it isn’t without it’s faults.
used it for 1st time last night with pauls instructions [ ignored booklet] no problems, in actual fact as paul said makes you wonder why we bothered with wax charts.
best bit for me was looking at printout with driving , breaks, other work at end of night in black and white in front of you, not trying to read a wax chart.
thanks again paul
dont have one (much to my agencies annoyance) and i dont intend to get one in the near future. i dont see the point in paying for one when i am managing fine without that expense. waste of time and money. it also raises the question of the responsibility of training when i finally do need one. who pays? me, the agency or the client? i dont use anything i dont know about
Don’t have the card, and won’t get one if I’m going to have to pay for it. Truck driving is badly paid enough as it is without coughing up hard earned pennies for a plastic card to let me do something I do already thankyou. Bosses should pay for it, not drivers.
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