Wu no calibration stations and ifs...
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Mow only nine
days to 77-day EW regulations allowing ivers to use tachographs in ace of drivers' record books me into force on August 1 — it it is likely to be another ree weeks before the tachos n be calibrated.
Officials at the Department Transport revealed this tek that there are at present DTp approved calibration itions.
And that approval is not ely to start until August 1.
A warning has come for erators using the tacho >es without a written logok that they may be accept by some licensing author?,s but they are not legal.
The first of a batch of 150 ;ho calibration stations will ready by the middle of 'gust, says the DTp and ly tachos calibrated at one these stations will be legally ceptable. Manufacturers us are not enough.
Already arguments have )ken out over which of the ree tacho manufacturers 11 have stations in the first tch.
Driginally the 150 was to be it between Smiths, Lucas ?nzle and Veeder Root but a )kesman for Lucas told CM it it had complained to the '13 about the allocation.
Aicas has already approved 1 agents to serve an estiited 12,000 vehicles said to be fitted with the instrument. And Smiths has spent £2.5 million on setting up its organisation for 'T'-day.
Sources at the DTp say that the approval of the stations will be carried out at traffic area level "but there are limitations on staff," said a spokesman.
The DTp men are anxious to see the Passenger and Goods Vehicle (Recording Equipment) regulations 1977 go into action. "We need to show some element of compliance in order to convince the EEC that we are doing something," said a spokesman.
It is thought that the DTp will try to achieve a spread of stations over the country rather than a concentration in the South East. Inspection of each station will take about half a day.
Each station will have a rolling road plus a fitter and an assistant to carry out the calibration which will take around an hour and a quarter per vehicle at a cost of £10.60 per tacho.
This price has been fixed by the DTp and will stay at that level until January 1979.