What is a tachograph in a car and what cars should it be on?

Traffic safety rules require drivers of passenger and freight transport to comply with the regime of work and rest. This is especially true in the countries of the European Union.

According to the regulations, drivers carrying passengers and dangerous goods should be driving for no more than:

• 10 hours (during daily work);
• 12 hours (when making intercity or international transportation).

How can you control the driver's driving time? With the help of a special control device - a tachograph.

The tachograph is a small-sized control device, the main tasks of which are to record the time the engine is running, as well as the speed of movement. All these data are recorded on a special film (if the tachograph is mechanical), or in a memory card (digital tachograph).

In Russia, until recently, only drivers of passenger and freight transport working in international traffic had to use tachographs without fail. Recently, however, the requirements have become much more stringent.

So since 2014, fines have appeared for the absence or malfunction of tachographs for the following categories of drivers:

• freight vehicles weighing more than three and a half tons, which operate on intercity transportation - fines for absence are charged from April 2014;
• trucks weighing more than 12 tons - fines will be introduced from July 2014;
• trucks weighing more than 15 tons - fines from September 2014.

That is, truckers and even drivers of light trucks will either have to follow the work schedule - drive no more than 12 hours behind the wheel, or drive with partners. The same requirements apply to drivers of passenger transport with more than eight seats.

As you can see, the legislation does not require the use of tachographs for car drivers. However, no one forbids installing them, and if you are the director of a company and want to control how your drivers comply with working hours while driving company cars, then no one will forbid installing a tachograph.

True, it is much more profitable to use GPS trackers - you will not only know where your car is now, but you will be able to track its entire route.

Since 2010, the use of digital tachographs has become mandatory in Russia. Their distinguishing feature is that it is impossible to perform any fraud with them - to open, change information or completely delete it.

An individual card is opened for each driver at the enterprise, on which all information from the tachograph is recorded.

Compliance with the regime of work and rest must be monitored by employees of the personnel department or accounting department.

Those tachographs that are manufactured or supplied to Russia must comply with certain standards; only specially appointed employees of companies have access to information. As the experience of European countries shows, the use of a tachometer reduces the accident rate on the roads by 20-30 percent.

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