Rob Tamse, managing director Continental Automotive Trading Nederland B.V.
As a result, which is also one of the objectives, road safety should improve. Thanks to the legal right to adequate rest for drivers while at work, they will be less likely to be involved in unsafe traffic situations due to overtiredness.
Tachographs
The device used to record driving and resting times is the tachograph. The stored data can be accessed by controlling authorities when enforcing the rules. Over the years, the tachograph has undergone a major change. From a paper disk behind the speedometer on which movements and time were recorded with a marker to today's digital, satellite-controlled version.
Retrofit
Since August 2023, with the introduction of the latest smart tachograph, in several thousand vehicles, analogue and digital tachographs have been replaced (the retrofit). Yet for many transporters, the retrofit is not urgent enough, according to fairly low retrofit figures from the Dutch RDW.
That urgency needs to be there, though, because the more companies wait until the last minute, the more difficult it will be to have all retrofits ready on time. Either because workshops are already fully booked on the day fleets want to make an appointment, or because tachograph manufacturers most probably cannot cope with the temporary peak demand for tachographs, resulting in poor tachograph availability on the desired day of conversion. And the EU is strict: the deadline for the first retrofit (for old analogue and digital tachographs) expired on 31 December 2024, and the retrofit for the second wave (for the first-generation smart tachographs) must be completed by 19 August 2025. Failure to comply will result in fines.
Avoid shortages and time constraints. Do not postpone the tachograph retrofit, plan it now.
This is the reason for our statement since mid-2023: if you, as a fleet, do not want any surprises, plan the conversion of your vehicle(s) now. That could be for the second, third, or fourth quarter: as long as it is fixed, it’s OK, and it will at least avoid the risk of a "full" workshop or increasing delivery times for tachographs. Please ask your workshop for advice where necessary.
Rely on VDO - one-stop shopping
Part of Germany's Continental, the tachograph maker can rely on more than 80 years of experience in tachographs, motion sensors, and download equipment. For analysing tachograph data, there is proprietary software that tells transporters where they need to improve. Special VDO workshop equipment helps install and calibrate tachographs every two years.
This article was previously published in the RAI Automotive Industry Magazine about the Dutch automotive industry. Want to read more?
