June/July 2003

Calls to combine mandatory digital tachographs with telematics-based on-board road charging equipment have been rising to a crescendo in recent weeks - although acceptance at EU level now looks increasingly unlikely.

There was already confusion over the repeated delays and uncertainty about the timetable for UK implementation of digital tachs. This has lately been compounded by a vigorous campaign by Britain's Freight Transport Association for what it calls an "integrated black box".

This would combine tachograph functionality with the ability to gather detailed information about the vehicle's location and operations, responding to the UK Government's plans for a vehicle taxation system based on road use (see news item below). The FTA argues that it would be unreasonable for operators be compelled to pay for two separate devices.

On the tachograph front, EU Transport Commissioner Loyola De Palacio is under pressure to agree to a revised timetable for implementation, and is expected to make an announcement by 5 August, the date when EU type-approved tachographs are supposed to be ready.

 

Manufacturers have delayed getting units tested and approved because of uncertainty over whether the technical specification might change. So far only French tachograph manufacturer Actia has confirmed it will meet this first target date, although Siemens VDO says it remains confident it can meet the implementation timetable, which suggests it will have approved digital tachographs ready by August.

Managing director Nick Rendell believes any delay is more likely to arise because not all EU countries will have the necessary smartcards approved in time - a situation which would result in a two-speed system, in which not all countries implemented the legislation simultaneously.

The FTA and Road Haulage Association have seized on this uncertainty to fuel their campaign for vehicle operators to be allowed to continue to use existing analogue equipment until a new specification can be agreed.

Ideally the FTA would like a new combined specification in place by 2006 - the same year in which the UK Government wants to bring in satellite-based lorry road user charging. But at a telematics conference mounted by the FTA in June, a Department for Transport spokesman was adamant that this could not happen. The time horizon for the emergence of an integrated black box would be more like five to ten years, he insisted.

At a separate event organised by telematics services provider Isotrak, the FTA's James Hookham admitted the organisation "threw its toys out of the pram" when it heard that the European Commission was still insisting that digital tachographs could be mandatory in August 2004.

"Even if digital tachographs do get delivered on time, the cost to British transport operators would be around £215 million a year," he said, "and you would be getting a cassette player in the age of the DVD."

Despite these reservations, the weight of evidence now seems to suggest that the existing specification for digital tachographs will be retained, and implementation will go ahead as planned; but Commissioner de Palacio could have the last word when she pronounces in August.

The cost of fitting 'separates'

The cost of fitting separate tachs and tracking devices could be over £3,000 per vehicle, according to Isotrak's calculations: £750 for a digital tachograph, £1,200 for an on-board management system and £350 for a road user charging device. Servicing and administration costs would add another £400 per year.

The two systems share many common components, said Isotrak's Craig Sears-Black at his company's telematics seminar in June, including the processor, communications device and driver interface. There was also overlap in smartcards, printers and GPS modules. And having multiple driver interfaces could be a potential distraction.