If we hire a driver for one day a month for eg. do we download his card even though he probably has other companies details that we could see or do we take a printout only. I have searched the business link site and it may be staring at me but i cannot see what the definite answer is for relief drivers. I am sure the card does need downloaded by us for that 1 day but would like to find out the right answer. If you could point us in the right direction it would be appreciated.
Can anyone help with a link to any relevant regulations?
Download data from the VU and drivers’ smart cards as often as lawfully necessary. This is generally at least every 28 days for smart cards and 56 days for VUs.
… but the EXPERT has definitely KNOWS it in the post below
The simple answer is that you must download the driver card as soon as the driver ceases to be employed by the Transport Undertaking as a driver, which will be the end of the days’ shift in this instance.
Normally driver cards must be downloaded by the Transport Undertaking at least every 28 days. Data must be kept for one year. However, in the circumstances described below data must be downloaded immediately, irrespective of whether the 28 day limit has been reached.
The information is contained in; The Passenger and Goods Vehicles (Recording Equipment) (Downloading and Retention of Data) Regulations 2008 or Statutory Instrument 2008 /198 if you want to go onto opsi.gov.uk and download it. The relevant info is in Scn 2 which creates a new Section in The Transport Act 1968 namely; Scn 97(E)
the wording goes something like;
(4) The undertaking must ensure that the data is downloaded from the card–
(a) immediately before the driver ceases to be employed by the undertaking as a
driver, or otherwise to carry out work for the undertaking as a driver;
(b) without delay upon becoming aware that the card has been damaged or is
malfunctioning;
(c) without delay in any circumstances such that the imminent erasure of the data, in
the normal course of use of the card, is reasonably foreseeable;
(d) if it is not possible to do so other than by means of a vehicle unit installed in a
vehicle, immediately before ceasing to control the use of that vehicle.
With a driver card you can only download the whole thing not pick and choose days.
