In line with the principles of the “Mobility Package,” additional changes in road transport will come into effect at the end of the year. Starting from the last day of December 2024, the period for inspecting data from a driver’s tachograph card will be extended from 28 to 56 days. According to European officials, this is intended to improve safety. However, voices from the transport sector and drivers suggest that the change primarily aims to increase revenue from fines and penalties imposed on participants in the European road transport market.
The reality is that technologies for recording driver activities on tachograph cards do not always keep up with the changes introduced by the European Commission. Only cards produced after August 2023 (model G2V2) are capable of recording 56 days of activity. This means that holders of tachograph cards of models G2V1 and G1 will not be subject to the 56-day inspection period because their card memory cannot store this data.
How will this look in practice?
Theoretically, holders of older cards should be at an advantage. However, in practice, control authorities will still be able to obtain records stored by companies. It is worth noting that the requirement to download data from the tachograph card remains unchanged, meaning that data must still be downloaded every 28 days.
What do these changes mean for drivers? Primarily, it means more paperwork. From now on, drivers will be required to carry printouts of any potential violations with them for 56 days. In practice, this change will pressure drivers to comply long-term with regulations regarding driving time, breaks, rest periods, and associated compensations.
The changes apply exclusively to the European Union market, meaning that drivers operating in “third countries” will only need to comply with these regulations when entering the EU or associated countries.
Legal Basis: Regulation (EU) No 2020/1054 amending Regulation 165/2014
