They must also be able to provide analogue charts and legally required printouts for their day of duty and the previous 28 calendar days. It is therefore essential that drivers have effective methods of safely and efficiently storing their tachograph charts, especially as there are loads of them generated in a working week.
Why are charts so important?
Analogue tachodiscs consist of a wax-coated paper disc, or record sheets, which keep a record of a working driver’s periods of duty. Three styluses plot traces into the wax-coated chart to measure the speed of the vehicle, the distance travelled and the ‘mode’ of the driver’s activity. There are also areas to manually enter the entire daily shift period, any breaks taken and work done outside of the vehicle, so it is essential, if not legally required to keep a record of this information.
Tachograph charts
Your tachograph charts should be Quality EC-approved. Charts should ideally have a coloured trace, often found in green or red. A hundred charts per box cater for up to three vehicle changes on reverse, allowing hand-written entries to be made when necessary.
Using the correct charts
It is an offence to use the wrong chart in your tachograph so be sure you have the right type of tachograph by checking the tachograph itself to match whether it is a mix of manual or automatic/electronic or mechanical. Ensure the chart is suitable for the vehicle’s speed rating, which can be checked from the speedometer part of the tachograph itself.
Weekly envelopes
These are handy paper envelopes with a table on the front for easy labelling, which should be used for safe storage of a week’s analogue tachograph charts. The envelopes are designed to protect the trace side of the charts. They are cheaper when bought in bulk and can be used for digital printouts as well as analogue should there be a change in the system to use.
Hardback driver’s wallet
As previously mentioned, current legislation requires a driver to be able to surrender 28 days worth of charts if stopped by an inspector. These are durable, PVC wallets purpose-built to keeping them in good order. They are designed to hold the specially designed envelopes to hold a week’s worth of analogue charts.
Softback driver’s wallet
These are also made of PVC but have a little more flexibility as they are designed to hold both used and unused analogue charts safely. Again, it is advised to store them in the wallet within the envelopes to protect the traces on the charts. It is also a good idea to buy a specially designed file to store charts that don’t necessary need to be kept on your person. This ensures that your driver’s wallet contains to the most up-to-date charts, should you be required to show them to an inspector.
Tachodisc are a UK company who supply analogue and digital tachograph equipment for the road haulage industry as well as providing tachograph analysis services.
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