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Playing your cards right

23rd February 2006
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Page 30, 23rd February 2006 — Playing your cards right
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

In time, the DVLA is likely to issue something like 750,000 smart cards for digitachs. So far it has issued fewer than

6,000. But, as Dominic Perry finds, it

doesn't seem at all concerned...

The deadline for the introduction of digital smart-card tachographs, although still slightly uncertain, is definitely on the way. The EC is insisting that from May all new trucks will have toile fitted with them manufacturers taking orders now will be delivering vehicles after the May deadline and lilting them with digital units.

Ian Norwell. PR manager for CVs at Mercedes-Benz, says: "All our production from now on is 100% digitach-equipped.We've been making our customers aware that they are coming."

Slight delay

"We think most customers and manufacturers have got a grip on the situation, hut it's an issue that can still rear up if a driver hasn't got his card and thinks that it's easy to get one at the drop of a hat." Norwell adds.

Even so, the DVLA says that at present it is only taking around seven days to issue cards and it does not expect this delay to lengthen.So far, just over 5,800 driver cards have been issued (see panel). Although this represents only a tiny fraction of the 1.5 million LGV licence holders (industry experts estimate that the pool of active drivers is half this number), the DVLA is not expecting an overwhelming surge of applications come May.

A spokeswoman adds:" I don't see why we couldn't cope: we don't foresee a sudden rush. Our information suggests that the trucks to be fitted with them are few and far between.

"I just can't see where a sudden rush would be coming from. In any case there are contingency plans in place should it happen. We have two sites where we can process them one here in Swansea and another in Manchester so we could issue them in two places, seven days a week if we needed too."

She admits that interest is building, with the monthly total for January equal to the figures for October, November and December combined, but says: "Although we're getting more applications it's still quite slow, We could handle five to six times the number we're currently getting."

She also points out that May is not a real deadline because operators won't be upgrading their fleets for months or years "My understanding is that companies don't buy new vehicles each year small companies certainly don't," she says. "Certain companies will probably retain their vehicles for as lone as 10 years. Drivers may want to get their cards, but if they are employed specifically to drive a truck with an analogue tachograph then why would they bother spending f38?"

About 40,000 new vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be delivered after May this year, so as a baseline figure only 40.000 drivers need to be able to use smart-card tachos. That means that. with nearly 6,000 issued. the DVLA is already 15% of the way towards the target.

Inevitably, it's not quite that simple agency drivers are likely to want smart cards in case they're sent into a fleet equipped with digital tachos. Also, there may well be more than one driver per digitach-equipped truck -but the number of drivers that will need their cards this year is still nowhere near 750,000.

However, even when drivers get their hands on the cards. will they know what to do with them? Training here is the key issue and it's on this that the industry may fall down.

Derek Broomfield, who runs Essex-based Novadata. predicts widespread problems, particularly in the own-account sector:"At the moment,all the big fleets have people working on it hut what about Joe Bloggs Manufacturing? Does he know about smartcard tachos? Hauliers are mostly up to speed but some are still saying:it's not coming in. it won't affect us.

Estimated cost

ner-drivers could also he caught out. Broomfield warns, as they don't realise the cost of training, buying the technology to capture the data and having a suitable computer. He estimates that it will cost an owner-driver £500-600 to prepare for the digital system. Firms need to work out their training requirements now before a backlog develops, he says Robin Sharp. general manager of development at the Freight Transport Association, also stresses the need for widespread training: "My concern is the amount of people who have to prepare and the number of drivers who need to be made aware."

Sharp adds that managing the transition between the two types of tacho will he difficult, with records havingto be kept in both analogue and digital formats.

Although he concedes that the number of drivers that need to be trained this year is relatively small, he cautions: "its still a lot of downtime and lost productivity. Managers get paid to manage-so let's start managing." •


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