SMART tachographs, which were introduced on 15 June 2019 will aid compliance with the drivers’ hours rules, but any claims of financial benefits to businesses are misguided, according to the FTA which refutes claims made by the European Commission when the law making the new devices mandatory was made in 2014, that it will save logistics businesses a total of €500 million through increased efficiencies.
James Firth, FTA’s head of road freight regulation commented: ‘The next generation tachographs herald a new era in the fight against lorry drivers driving when fatigued, but while they will help with enforcement, but they will not save the industry substantial money.
‘Fortunately for drivers, they will notice little change; the new models look identical to their predecessors. Furthermore, the added satellite location data will help authorities to catch non UK based operators who work illegally in the UK market. The satellite location function does not provide live tracking, a common misconception. Instead, it takes a location ‘stamp’ at start and end of duty and every three hours of continuous driving.’
