All HGV drivers know very well that they cannot drive without their tachograph card inserted into the device. However, it is not enough.
When the tachograph card is inserted into the device, the driver must manually add what has been done since the card was taken out; so-called post-registration activity. The activity to be registered can be to confirm that one has had rest or other work that has been carried out since the last 24-hour or weekly rest.
Jone Klingsheim, business advisor to the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association (NLF), says that there are reports of an increase in controls and fines linked to the failure to register this kind of activity.
“It is an unfair violation. It most often affects drivers manning a vehicle with a VDO printer. It is different from a Stonridge printer, which asks if the driver has had a rest after the card has been taken out. That is usually what applies. When you confirm this, you have post-registered,” Klingsheim said.
Klingshem added:
“It is also important to take out the card every day – even if it is not stated in the law. Furthermore, you are obliged to register your country of origin and country of destination, every day. Excuses such as not having driven the vehicle or forgetting to pause the tachograph are also not sufficient.”