Navigating the laws and rules surrounding tachographs can prove a headache for fleet operators, but it is essential to comply with the different rules and regulations.
At first glance it is a simple rule: if you have a vehicle with a total weight of 3.5 tonnes (3,500kg) or under, you don't need to fit a tachograph regardless of whether you're driving in the UK or in Europe.
But if you drive a vehicle over this weight, you're legally required - with a few exceptions - to fit a tachograph.
Importantly, it is the Gross Train Mass - or combined weight of the van and trailer when loaded - that needs to be considered.
If this exceeds 3.5 tonnes, then a tachograph will need to be in place.
This also applies if your fleet uses smaller vehicles, including 4x4s and SUVs, for towing and the combined weight is more than 3.5 tonnes.
Tachograph compliance
The regulatory landscape surrounding tachographs in the UK is complex and both domestic and international legislation might apply.
In precis, if you buy or lease a vehicle and it comes under the EU or AETR rules on drivers’ hours you’ll need to make sure it’s designed to have a tachograph fitted.
Only vehicles registered before May 1, 2006, can use a traditional, analogue model, while newer vehicles need to be fitted with a digital tachograph, which encrypts the data for driver speed and journey time.
If you are required by law to fit a tachograph then it's advisable to read the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) guidance on where you can fit a tachograph unit in a vehicle.
To state the obvious, if your drivers use vehicles that do not comply with the law, you will potentially be looking at prosecution.
Exceptions to tachograph legislation
There are a few exemptions to the rules.
For example, you don’t need a tachograph if your fleet is consistently driven off public roads.
More relevantly for many commercial fleets, if you use vehicles up to a maximum (or combined vehicle and trailer) weight of 7.5 tonnes, you don’t need to fit a tachograph if you travel less than 100km (62 miles) from where it’s based and:
- You are carrying goods and your vehicle runs on liquid gas, LPG or electricity
- You are carrying materials, equipment or machinery for the driver’s use – and driving the vehicle is not the driver’s main work activity.
However, while these vehicles do not need to be fitted with a tachograph, drivers must still comply with domestic drivers’ hours rules.
The full range of tachograph exemptions is available to view on the government’s website.
Evolving tachograph legislation
A new generation of digital tachographs – which are called ‘smart tachographs 2’ – are currently being implemented.
Since August 21, 2023, it has been a requirement for all newly-registered vehicles over 3.5 tonnes to be fitted with one of these tachographs, which rely on satellite positioning.
These enforce EU legislation on driving and resting times by recording driver mileage, speed and rest periods while also logging when a vehicle is being loaded or unloaded and are complete with anti-tampering mechanisms.
Furthermore, it was also a requirement for existing vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes - that were previously fitted with an analogue or digital non-smart tachograph - to be retrofitted by December 31, 2024.
Vehicles which had previously been fitted with a smart tachograph version 1, must now be fitted with version 2 by August 18, 2025.
Further information on key dates surrounding the implementation of smart tachograph 2 is available here.
Tachographs and EVs
Legislation concerning the operation of 4.25-tonne electric vehicles is also evolving.
Typically, electric vans have an increased mass compared to their petrol and diesel equivalents which is due to the additional weight of their powertrain, including the battery.
Flexibility to allow standard (category B) licence holders to drive these heavier zero emission vans was originally introduced in 2018, to avoid constraining payload for operators using cleaner, alternatively-fuelled options, predominantly battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
It means that these standard licence holders can drive alternatively-fuelled goods vans with a maximum authorised mass (MAM) of 4.25 tonnes, above the standard 3.5 tonnes entitlement.
In May 2024, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) said that it expected to bring legislation forward by the end of the year, but the change of government in July resulted in these changes now being considered by the new administration.
In October 2024, Abdul Chowdhury, head of the vehicle policy team at OZEV, confirmed to Fleet News that the department was still looking at the rules surrounding drivers’ hours and tachographs.
As previously mentioned, any electric van operating outside of a 100km radius of its base would be required to comply with EU driver hours rules and utilise a tachograph.
But for vehicles operating within the 100km radius a tachograph is not needed.
To conclude...
At the heart of the complex rules governing the use of tachographs, there’s one simple rule that generally holds true.
With a few exceptions, if you drive a vehicle that weighs more than 3.5 tonnes in weight, you need to ensure that a tachograph’s fitted.
It's been reported in recent years that sales of larger vans have decreased because some fleet operators don’t want the additional complications and administrative burdens that have arisen from the need to comply with regulations.
The advent of the new 'smart tachograph 2' era means that all newly registered vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will automatically be fitted with one of these "next generation" digital devices.
It now remains to be seen whether this streamlined and digitally-enabled approach to tachograph use marks the dawn of a brave new era.
But it's incumbent on fleet decision makers to understand the legislative requirements affecting them to ensure compliance.
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Ben Rooth is an award-winning freelance business journalist with more than 20 years’ high level experience.
He entered the profession after gaining an MA in journalism. While continuing to write for a variety of national titles, Ben has a particular interest in all aspects of the automotive sector.
Dave Crofts - 06/09/2012 13:04
Really informative and easier to understand than the dvla. But rumours say all horses boxes need a tacho? I`m into competition, not a business, and tow a horse trailer with a ford f250, I can not get an answer as to if I am legal with weights, licenses, tachos or anything! Confused Dave