Read this on another forum; a couple of poster are claiming that a police officer needs to be “properly qualified” in order to ask you to produce your tachos on request. Please confirm to me that this is absolute zb!
- Any police officer can require you to produce your tachos or other documentation relating to you or your vehicle, but only trained (and authorised) police officers can issue a prohibition in relation to tachograph records or mechanical defects.
sounds like bollox to me so long. As he shows you his warrant card and signs the tacho disc in felt tip pen i can’t see any reason you could refuse, whether average plod would understand it is another matter,
i would like to add if you do have a problem there will call an officer that as got the right qualification or vosa to issue PG9
No requirement for Police in uniform to show Warrant Card. Nor is there any legal requirement for Police or VOSA to sign a chart after it is taken from the tacho. Although I always sign charts on the front and in biro 
My mate is in the police been in just over 2 years, mostly pounding the streets, and dealing with domestics, junkies and weekend drunks.
He doesent know a thing about tachographs apart from the fact a truck driver needs to use one and has no clue on the drivers hours, but then again he isnt really having anything to do with trucks or the enforcement of drivers hours. He says he wouldnt go near a tachograph because he isnt trained and doesnt know anything about them, but if he felt something was wrong he would call for assistance from an officer who knew what they were doing.
Saying that he has only been involved with one truck, a German truck driver crashed whilst drunk. Thats the only time he has attended anything involving a truck and with that case the driver never appeared in court.
geebee45:
No requirement for Police in uniform to show Warrant Card. Nor is there any legal requirement for Police or VOSA to sign a chart after it is taken from the tacho. Although I always sign charts on the front and in biro
There may well not be a legal requirement for UK police or Vostapo to sign a tacho, but how then do you explain to a Gendarme or other EU plod that it was an enforcement authority who requested the card be removed from the tacho and not the driver??
There would be no argument in most places, with no official signature/stamp then you would be looking at fines which could run into thousands.
Hombre:
geebee45:
No requirement for Police in uniform to show Warrant Card. Nor is there any legal requirement for Police or VOSA to sign a chart after it is taken from the tacho. Although I always sign charts on the front and in biroThere may well not be a legal requirement for UK police or Vostapo to sign a tacho, but how then do you explain to a Gendarme or other EU plod that it was an enforcement authority who requested the card be removed from the tacho and not the driver??
There would be no argument in most places, with no official signature/stamp then you would be looking at fines which could run into thousands.
It has never happened to me, whenever I have had an inspection the card was signed without a problem, the Germans being so perfectly organised even had a little personalised rubber stamp 
I got tugged once by the local plod, not traffic guys, i asked him if he wanted my cards and he just laughed and said he would just embarass himself cos he wouldnt know a good un from a bad un, just stopped to tell me that i had a taillight out…
This year I have been stopped in France twice by their Ministry and on both occasions the card was stamped and signed and a boletin issued. In Spain the Guardia Civil have stamped the card.
If the Brits cant afford stamps then they could at least give you boletin to prove it was them not you who removed the card. personally i would be very disinclined to let VOSA have my card until an assurance was made that some form of offical document/stamp would be forthcoming.
I might be wrong here but stand to be corrected,the cops had the right to ask to see the days tacho(been out of the UK 7yrs) but not the rest of the weeks(although they will ask)that is for vosa.Many times when I have been stopped they ask for all the tacho`s,and 9 times out of ten if you say you do not have to show them they reply ok I will get someone from the “ministery” and 9 times out of ten they did not.
ps the new cards are something else.
I find this taking out of tacho cards a load of bollox.What happens when you’re double manned?Do you have to find a wheeltapper or plod to change your cards over?
bestbooties:
I find this taking out of tacho cards a load of bollox.What happens when you’re double manned?Do you have to find a wheeltapper or plod to change your cards over?
I gather from your statement that you have either never worked in europe or havent for a long time. Whilst you may find it a load of bollox the various european police forces would fine you a frightening amount of money if you could not prove that a disc was removed on the instruction of an enforcement official. Unlike the paltry couple of hundred VOSA might sting you for the “fines” in europe run into thousands and they like nothing more than handing them out.
Obviously if you are double manned then the other bloke would be sat next to you, so its obvious even to a copper that you are double manned and need to swap discs about.
Again I have never had a problem removing the card to check my driving time without a gendarme being present, but I havent driven an anologue equipped truck in Europe for almost 2 years, but if and when I do, I shall still keep an eye on my break or driving time by checking MY records.
Obviously there is no need to remove a digital card when you are on duty, the display or printout tells you all you need to know.
I have never had a problem after opening the tacho for a quick look to check my hours either, the problem is when the tacho is out for 10/15/20 minutes or whatever while they check the days and previous days cards - the gap in the trace stands out like a sore thumb and is likely to cause major problems.
I beleive it is also illegal to open the tacho head until the end of a days duty - that in itself is enough to attract a fine with a jobsworth type. the Belgians dont even like the key being in the older type of tacho head whilst driving.
HOMBRE is 100% correct in what he is saying about euro fines,it would take some courage to drive through the Basque area,or any other EU state,tacho offences can run up to and over 6500 euros,your wings are clipped until they receive every cent,they wont care if you have to pick up the dog from the vets,booked a theatre ticket for the Mrs,or have to get back for a medical appointment or whatever.You are immobilsed.For some reason,but not sure,if there is an agreement to wire fines direct to the cop shop in euro land,via Western Union money transfer direct from the bosses account,mostly they only take cash only.
A long time ago,the GNR Portuguese police in Oporto,near a small beach town,locked up a ■■■■■■ up Russian driver in the cells to sleep of the vodka,to my amazment,he got an artic down narrow,twisted and tight lanes and small roads to park on the beach.They didnt press any charges for the merry homesick Russian.One time,in Le Mans,a bunch of Russian lads were beating each other up,in the garage parking,they used cab jack bars,and cut each others air lines and susies,local cops arrived,but didnt do much,the drivers were drunk,and the dispute was quite dangerous to be parked up by.
TONY530I:
I got tugged once by the local plod, not traffic guys, i asked him if he wanted my cards and he just laughed and said he would just embarass himself cos he wouldnt know a good un from a bad un, just stopped to tell me that i had a taillight out…
I was stopped by local plod but he did ask to see my current chart. I gave it to him. He had obviously never seen one before and I laughed and told him so. He gave me a sheepish smile and admitted it so I gave him a basic lesson in tachograph reading.
Obviously so basic that he didn’t spot the infringement. 
Apologies if my earlier post was misunderstood.
I have never, nor would I in the future, refuse to ‘sign’ the drivers current chart if it had been removed from the tacho for me to look at. What I wanted to do was dispel another MMTM myth regarding the ‘legal’ requirement for the record to be signed, because there isn’t one. Yes, I do have a little stamp with my name on it, as do many other Examiners.
All Traffic Examiners that I’ve run training courses for have been told that they should record full details on the chart they cause to be removed from the tacho. To the best of my knowledge the other trainers say the same thing.
The requirement to produce records of driving is no different in the UK whether it is the Police or a VOSA Examiner that requests the records. The requirement is actually the same across the entire EU although that legislation uses the term ‘Inspecting Officer.’
slighty off topic but a question for geebee, would i be right in thinking that if a vosa officer wants too retain a drivers tachographs he must provide the driver with a reciept but the police dont need issue a reciept too retain tachographs??
Scotstrucker said;
slighty off topic but a question for geebee, would i be right in thinking that if a vosa officer wants too retain a drivers tachographs he must provide the driver with a reciept but the police dont need issue a reciept too retain tachographs??
If tachos are being retained then it is for a purpose; as evidence of an alleged offence being committed. A receipt should be given as it acts as part of the evidence trail. Anything taken and that could include; fuel receipts, charts, printouts, toll bridge tickets, road toll tickets and even delivery paperwork will usually go in a bag that is then sealed and the items will be itemised. There is no set format for the ‘receipt,’ it could be detailing what has been retained and by whom on the back of a chart. Most VOSA Examiners and Traffic officers have a plentiful supply of evidence bags and receipt forms.