Hi guys
Have agency shift on Friday which will require me to use digicard for first time. I’ve looked at a few vids on youtube and seems straightforward enough. I have a decent grasp of regulations etc concerning driving time. Is there anything not so obvious that I will be required to do on first use?
Thanks.
Sometimes the card gets ejected from the tacho on first ever use (not sure why or if it’s still a problem)
Just re insert it and it should be ok second time round
If you’ve never used it before it will first display a date with the time 00:00 asking was this ‘End of shift’? Select ‘yes’ then ‘U.K.’ This is just for the first use. It will then display the current time as ask ‘start of shift?’ At this point you would enter a manual entry to show any working time used before the card was entered.
thank you chaps.
When inserting the card, wait until it has completely read the card (the full card symbol will appear on the screen, rather than just part of it) before moving the vehicle. This seems to take ages, but if you move the vehicle before it’s done, you’ll get a “Driving without card” violation.
Don’t forget to put it on break as that’s annoying when you remember 10 minutes later haha
And if your unsure on what to do ask someone, another driver, TM, anyone that might know, there is no shame in it and they will be happy to help, they will have been new once and know what its like. its better to ask and get it right than to get it wrong and still not know what to do 
Best of luck for tomorrow
MrGodSquad:
And if your unsure on what to do ask someone, another driver, TM, anyone that might know, there is no shame in it and they will be happy to help, they will have been new once and know what its like. its better to ask and get it right than to get it wrong and still not know what to doBest of luck for tomorrow
^^ This - ask!
Depending on tacho make each have their own little quirks.
Personally I’d advise doing manual entries for time you walk in yard to time you leave. Don’t just depend on sticking card in and ejecting it.
Reason being once you’ve got used to doing manual entries it’ll save you later on in different jobs having to suddenly do one !
When I was a lidl bag carrying limper[emoji1] I did manual entry a lot, now I get asked by a few ‘experienced’ drivers at place I’m at now how to do this or that on a tacho. I don’t mind helping but does make you laugh at how they got this far and now suddenly have a light go on about how tachos work
Tachos themselves are easy, it’s piecing together the different regulations that make your head hurt !
Just to update all went well including use of tacho. A small amount of momentary confusion this morning at first though. I left the depot and got about a mile up the road when something starting beeping in cab, sounded like an alarm clock. It sounded like it was coming from the tacho area and not having a clue what it meant I pulled over and asked a guy in an artic who was parked up. He was happy to help and got in my truck and looked but couldn’t work it out either. It turned out it was an alarm on a mobile phone that somebody had left in one of the overhead pockets next to tacho machine.
Got back to depot and got a load of unnecessary mouthful from some arse about missing last two deliveries (ran out of time), if I had been sat twiddling thumbs all day perhaps it might have been warranted but with the exception of my mandatory break I did not stop all day. I heaped the praise to him on leaving, thanking him so much for his time and for signing my timesheet etc but I think the sarcasm went straight over his head - not the sharpest tool for sure!
Bricking it now for my 1st day next Saturday lol
texaspete:
Got back to depot and got a load of unnecessary mouthful from some arse about missing last two deliveries (ran out of time)
Did you get the common “the other drivers do it all in time” or “i don’t see how you cant do it everyone else does”? don’t sweat it. they might have given you more than they norm do just to see how far they could push you.
geoffwales:
Bricking it now for my 1st day next Saturday lol
I know its hard but just don’t, as i said before if you get stuck with something or are not 100% on what to do or how to do it then ask someone. As Texaspete did with the other driver just ask most people remember what its like to not know how to do something, so they will be happy to help
Best of luck for Saturday
Don’t brick it Geoff! Nothing to be bricking it about. Just take your time and ask if unsure over anything, the few people I encountered were only too happy to help and you could tell would rather I asked than the alternative.
Godsquad - yup exactly at, looking down his nose like he could have done it all in 10 minutes and implying that ‘other drivers’ would have done it all and more. Yeah right! Anyway only had to put up with his nonsense for 5 minutes, the main reason for doing this in the first place was to limit exposure to fools working in office jobs so only 5 minutes in his company, can’t complain!
Got a start tomorrow at 10.30 
How did you get on Geoff?
Hi Ash, 90% great, started at 10.30 in Port Sunlight, then to Chorley, then Cannock and back to Port Sunlight. Big learning curve on understanding RDC protocols and my reversing needs practice, however.
I took a wrong turn and ended up doing a blind side reverse with the help of a greek driver guiding me. Also the shunters in all the centres helped me where i was struggling.
The other 10% was sadly a couple of people i met deserve to work nights in a cupboard in the office with no friends. I dont get people being out and out rude and unhelpful, ive never tolerated surliness lifes to short.
The tachocard was easy enough but i didnt do anything to taxing
Every job has it 10% of tossers
Lol, yep
The tacho flashing driving without card is not a violation, a mechanic or shunter can jump in the cab and move it around the yard.
Once you have booked off and the time corresponds to the work records, what happens after that is not the drivers problem.
But gaps in work records and tacho times can lead to fines of thousands or more if stopped abroad, in this case, activity attestation forms are required.
Glad to hear it went ok Geoff guessing by the sounds of it your are doing class 1? drop me a pm mate so we can chat
Ash, for some reason I sent you two messages but they aren’t showing in sent folder