March/April 2005

Vehicle manufacturers will not be obliged to fit tachographs in new vehicles until 5 August 2006 - a year later than anticipated - and operators will not have to retrofit them when taking delivery of new vehicles that don't already have them until August 2007.

This latest twist in the seemingly never-ending saga of the implementation programme for digital tachographs came on 15 March at a meeting of the European Parliament Transport Committee.

Britain's Freight Transport Association has welcomed the postponement. Chief executive Richard Turner has called it "a victory for common sense," and says it "will benefit unit manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers and lorry operators."

The change has been more or less forced on the committee by the de facto reality in the marketplace, which has been beset by delays and uncertainty in getting the devices checked and approved. Some observers had questioned whether industry could fully comply with the original deadline anyway.

The new ruling has been given cautious approval by the European Parliament - although we understand that the European Council of Transport Ministers also needs to ratify the deferment, which may not happen until June.

Meanwhile, UK transport Minister David Jamieson has confirmed that regulations will be in place by the previous August deadline. Companies who want to fit and operate digital tachographs from then will be allowed to do so, but compulsory fitment will be delayed "until such time as the market provides a choice of freely available units," he says.