The Case For Tachographs
Today operators see tachographs as levellers—devices which prevent unfair competition from companies who force their drivers to work excessive hours. Trade unions and drivers also now favour tachographs for this reason and records are often used in tribunals as proof when claiming for unpaid work.
Tachographs are also useful after an accident to help establish the cause and corroborate eye witness accounts. Trade unions take a dim view of anyone who exceeds speed limits or permitted hours.
Fears that it is easy to falsify readings by tampering with tachographs have been allayed, since it is relatively easy to spot such attempts. However, more sophisticated ways to interrupt the signals sent to the digital tachograph have since been created, including the use of Magnets. In the UK, VOSA & The Police have stepped up their enforcement activities and Drivers found to be using a Magnet, or any other method, to falsify their Drivers Hours records are now facing Prohibition & Fixed Penalty Notices and/or Arrest.
Tachograph data, once correlated, provides valuable data to the haulage company. For instance, efficiency of driver and vehicle use, driver shift patterns, compliance with internal policy, payment of agency drivers, proof of collection/delivery times, etc.
Read more about this topic: Tachograph, Tachograph Arguments
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