Black boxes and tachos
Page 51
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• One can well understand K Webster's frustration that black boxes are not yet required to control the EC Hours Law instead of the 'old-style' tachograph (CM13-19 Feb). However, as has been explained many times before in your columns, there are some real difficulties and disadvantages in any change over.
For example, it is not only specialist enforcement officers who can and often do need to seize evidence following a breach of the law, or in the event of an accident. The use of universal data downloading equipment is probably not as feasible as Mr Webster supposes.
The idea of a driver or an owner 'presenting himself' at the police station is somewhat naive since there is no guarantee that the correct data would be presented and the time wasted in reporting could well be costly.
What about the owner-driver? Will he need to download his data as a check, in which case he will need either to use a bureau service or buy a printer for his office. Will drivers find black boxes as acceptable as the tachograph? Maybe, but then they may wish to have a printout or a display at intervals during the day to confirm that the machine is working properly.
Modern on-board computers with the possibility of automatic driver identification by a driver card are available for all those who need computerised analysis for their fleet management, including data transfer from the tachograph. Would it be better to separate commercial information from legal requirements?
Finally, there will be the difficulty of changing over to a black box. Will there be a retrospective fitment programme, or will enforcement for the next 10-15 years be on the basis that enforcement officers will be working with both systems?
Mr Webster's letter raises some difficult and interesting issues which require rather more than a superficial assessment. One way of studying the feasibility of using a black box for enforcement purposes would be to run one in parallel with the tachograph, download the data directly to a microcomputer and check the feasibility. There might then be a case for black box data to be acceptable for checking purposes with the chart remaining as the official record. If there is a company that would like to try this out we would be willing to co-operate.
F Kay Director and general manager, Lucas Kienzle Instruments, Birmingham.
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