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28th January 2021
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Smart Tachographs introduced last Friday, will not bring the financial benefits promised, says FTA
Smart Tachographs, introduced last Friday, will aid compliance with the drivers' hours' rules but any claims of financial benefits to businesses are misguided, according to Freight Transport Association.
The business organisation, which represents the interests of the logistics sector, 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 EUR 500 million through increased efficiencies.
"Smart tachographs will aid enforcement of the drivers' hours' rules; regrettably, enforcement agencies across Europe face a constant battle against those who would try to compete unfairly by driving beyond the legal maximum hours," says James Firth,?FTA's head of Road Freight Regulation. "The?next generation tachographs herald a new era in the fight against lorry drivers driving?when?fatigued, but while they will help with enforcement, they will not save the industry substantial money.
"Fortunately for drivers, they will notice little change; the new models look identical to their predecessors and drivers do not need to replace their tachograph cards. 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."
17th June 2019