If you are a coach operator that heads over the water, then no doubt you are well underway with your smart tachograph retrofit programme to meet the new EU Mobility Package regulations. If, however, you are reading this and thinking “what the heck is he on about?”, then you could probably do with looking into it in a bit more detail!
As we know, tachographs are getting cleverer. They can now be monitored by a passing vehicle, and rest assured, the French and the Germans will be out checking that your coaches have got the latest generation units, given how they have already announced some hefty fines for non-compliance. That’s not like them though, is it?!
So before the end of December, all vehicles that are currently fitted with analogue or 1B tachographs (early digital models) must be retrofitted with a new Smart 2 tachograph is you intend to cross the border into EU territory.
If your vehicle was built from June 2019 to August 2023, then it will probably have a Smart 1 tachograph. That gives you a slight extension to the Smart 2 deadline to August 2025. But after that date, all vehicles involved in international journeys must be fitted with a Smart 2 unit.
How do I know what version of tachograph is fitted to my vehicle, though? Well, it is fairly simple.
There are only two main tachographs fitted to PSVs and HGVs: The Stoneridge SE5000 – which clearly states on the printer draw if the unit is a Smart 2 unit – and the VDO DTCO 4.1, which uses a small Bluetooth symbol just above the screen to denote Bluetooth capability and in turn be recognised as a Smart 2 unit.
One excellent feature in my opinion is the new unit’s ability to be paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Via a compatible app, you can now make manual entries through the app rather than having to enter them through the clunky and, frankly, un-driver friendly menu screens that tachograph units currently offer.
To reiterate the point of penalties for non-compliance, the French authorities have already announced that you can face a whole year in prison and a €30,000 fine should your vehicle not have the correct equipment installed.
The Dutch and Spanish, meanwhile, are both looking at €4,000, while surprisingly the most lenient of them all, the Germans, are offering you the kind opportunity to lose only 1,500 of your hard-earned euros should you not have the right tachograph… but I wouldn’t worry, as no doubt they will get you for your VAT as well!
