Q. We’ve got a query about the new tachograph rules for vehicles over 2.5t needing a tachograph fitted in 2026. I am reading its only for vehicles going international. Is that the case, as we were told all our lighter commercial fleet needed them?
A. On or after 1 July 2026, a ‘full’ smart tachograph 2 or ‘transitional’ smart tachograph 2 must be fitted into newly registered goods vehicles over 2.5t, undertaking international journeys for hire and reward. If the vehicle weighs over 2.5t and less than 3.5t and is operating only within the UK, then there continues to be no requirement to fit a tachograph into the vehicle.
Should I stay or should I go...
Q. We have mix of Class 1 and Class 2 drivers with single and double manned routes across the UK. Previously we have given the driver a start time at the end of their shift by counting 11 or nine hours ahead. We’ve implemented a new system which provides less certainty for the route start times the following day, so the drivers must either accept the route departing early/late, or we contact the driver between the end of their previous shift and the start of the next one by phone or text. What is the impact on drivers daily/weekly rest if they are required to check their phone by a certain time?
A. If a driver is under the threat of consequences or believes that there will be consequences for not reading or responding to a message, then this would be considered to be instruction and therefore the drivers are not at rest as they are not freely disposing of their time. This could impact on a driver’s ability to recuperate and increase the potential for an incident. If the operator were to enforce this, this working time would need to be logged correctly and could generate infringements for insufficient rest.
The driver could then be penalised if stopped roadside, and enforcement officers would question whether the operation was being run correctly when looked at under the lens of road safety. If the operator messaged the driver, but put in place a policy that states that the driver is freely able to look at the message when they want to and would not be penalised for not acting on it, then this would not impact on daily rest as the driver has chosen to read and potentially respond to the message.
