The first record of a tachograph dates back to 1911 when the English company Markt & Co. London Ltd. promoted a device known as the Jones Recorder. This instrument resembled modern tachographs as it used a circular chart to record time, movement, and distance, displaying zigzag lines at half-mile intervals over a 24-hour period.
More than ten years later, a less sophisticated instrument with a vibrating needle was introduced in Germany. It tracked vehicle movements and marked traces on paper. While some truck owners used these devices for more efficient fleet management, the initial demand for tachographs was low, resulting in slow development. However, by the late 1930s and early 1940s, tachographs became valuable tools for monitoring vehicle movements, aiming to save fuel.
According to the European Union definition, a tachograph is a device installed in road vehicles to display, record, print, and store data on the movement of those vehicles, including speed and driver activities. A tachograph automatically or semi-automatically monitors information such as driving time, working hours, and rest periods.
Tachographs are mandatory for the following categories of vehicles:
Tachographs record not only driving time but also all other driver activities, such as work, availability, and rest. This ensures compliance with regulations on working hours and mandatory rest periods for mobile workers, improving drivers’ working conditions, reducing traffic accidents, and increasing road safety.
By law, it is mandatory to insert a tachograph sheet or a driver’s smart card, depending on the type of tachograph, while driving vehicles that are not exempt from this obligation.
Tachographs are essential tools for enforcing the Law on Working Hours of Vehicle Crews in Road Transport. There are three primary types of tachographs: analog, digital, and smart.
An analog tachograph is a device installed in vehicles that records data on vehicle movement and driver activities. It uses a tachograph sheet that must be inserted to log activities.
Over a 24-hour period, the tachograph sheet rotates within the device, recording distances traveled, driver activities, and speed. After completing one full rotation, a new sheet must be inserted.
Data from analog tachographs are read manually.
Digital tachographs record speed, distance traveled, and drivers’ working and rest hours. Data is stored in the device’s memory and on the driver’s card. Memory can hold data for up to a year, after which new data overwrites the oldest records.
Data from digital tachographs are stored as “.ddd” files, which contain driver identification, driving without a card, calibration data, vehicle chassis number, registration details, and tachograph brand and model. Driver cards must be read at least every 28 days.
Unlike analog tachographs, digital tachograph data can be read remotely using a DTD device for remote data downloading or manually via data transfer devices. Remote downloading enables data transfer directly to a computer while the vehicle is in motion.
Smart tachographs represent a new generation designed to reduce manipulation risks. They allow data to be downloaded during travel, eliminating the need to stop vehicles unless manipulation is suspected.
Pametni tahograf 1. generacije
First-Generation Smart Tachographs
The smart tachograph is a next-generation digital tachograph that started being installed in all newly registered vehicles from June 15, 2019. This device offers the following additional features compared to previous models:
New generation cards: Driver, control, workshop, and carrier cards now have the ability to store additional data that the smart tachograph can record.
These innovations contribute to greater safety and transparency in the operation of tachographs, ensuring compliance with regulations and reducing the potential for abuse.
Second-Generation Smart Tachograph
In response to the need for technically improved tachographs that enable better monitoring and compliance with the new standards of the Mobility Package, the installation of second-generation smart tachographs, known as Smart 2 Tachographs, began on August 21, 2023.
Second-generation smart tachographs offer the following additional features compared to the first generation:
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