Questions Mount Over Tacho Card Cock-Up

The DVLA attracts cock-ups like Britain’s Got Talent does misguided fame seekers.

Following the announcement in December that thousands of driving licences have been returned to convicted drink drivers before they had undergone medical checks, comes the announcement that 175,000 digital tachograph cards are thought to be faulty.

The problem emerged late last month when HGV drivers and their bosses reported an assortment of error messages displayed on their tacho units.
Some simply manifested themselves as: “Error 48”, some could no longer be inserted into the tachograph and some even ejected themselves from drivers’ units while the vehicle was in motion.

For a few days the licensing agency seemed to stride through its latest crisis with confidence, asserting that the problem would be resolved within 15 days.

But as the scale of the problem grew it was forced to change its guidance to drivers and operators, urging instead that faulty cards were sent back so that replacements could be swiftly organised and admitting that 15 days was perhaps a tad optimistic.

But many questions still remain unanswered.

What caused the problem? The DVLA says the driver and company cards affected were issued between 24 March 2007 and 31 August 2008, but it has not yet said why.

They expire after five years, suggesting that the fault is possibly linked to their ‘lifespan’, but does this mean the haulage industry could continue experiencing problems until August 2013?

Tacho suppliers believe this is possible.

And why is this particular batch affected and can the problem be prevented from reoccurring in the future?

This could all cost operators as well, as they must rely on manual records until receiving replacement cards. Will the DVLA be picking up the tab created by these companies relying on additional resources in order to remain within the law?

At the moment, it’s still too early to say; the government agency is locked into another administrative battle to get cards to companies as soon as is possible.

But when the dust settles it will have another job on its hands allaying these concerns from many parts of the transport industry.

The latest advice about what to do if you have faulty driver or company tacho cards can be found here.

For further information contact Anton Balkitis or Lucy Wood on 0800 046 3066 or visit the website if you are looking for drink driving solicitors.