Ask the MAC – 9 Apr 2026

With Ray Marshall, Manager – Compliance Information.

Q) One of my drivers has taken a ‘Return to Work’ Driver CPC course, but their current Driver Qualification Card (DQC) is still in date. Will this training count towards the 35 hours total required?

A) If your DQC has not expired or has been expired for less 60 days and they have taken a return to work Driver CPC course, this will count towards their 35 hours and they will get seven hours of international training added to their record.

Q) What we should be instructing our tacho centre to set the speedometer to in our 3.5t vans once the new rules for tachos in EU come into force after 1 July 2026? We have already had the new V2G2 tachograph heads installed and have been instructing the drivers to start using the tachograph already as a way of trialling, and what we’ve found is that they are getting overspeeds because the speedometer is set too low.

A) As a 3.5t van is an N1 vehicle, not N2 or N3, the speed setting is not covered in legislation and we have been advised that no maximum speed needs to be set in the tachograph but that within the EU, a speed setting of 180 kph is usually entered during calibration. A reply from the European Commission, which proposes legislation, upholds EU treaties, and ensures member states apply EU law and policies, has said that in their view, the ‘over speeding’ definition of Annex 1C provides the answer to the question; in particular that this maximum speed is to be set depending on the maximum authorised speed of the vehicle, in accordance with other non‑tachograph‑related legislation.