Producing tachos
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We operate several recovery vehicles which are fitted with tachographs but, as far as we know, we do not have to use them when on recovery work.
If drivers use the tachographs for our own purposes—mainly in connection with knowing exactly what time has been spent on a job and being able to prove it— would police and traffic examiners have any power to demand to see them ?
AThey have no power to require production of tachographs kept voluntarily.
A specialised breakdown vehicle—as defined by the European Court in the case of Hamilton vs Whitelock—is exempt from the EC hours' and tachograph regulations. But if the vehicle operator wishes to use a tachograph in such a vehicle to keep
records for his own purposes he is quite free to do so.
Police and Ministry examiners have powers under two sets of legislation to require production of tachograph records.
1 Article 14(2) of EC Regulation 3821/85, which requires that an undertaking keeps record sheets for at least a year, goes on to state "The sheets shall be produced or handed over at the request of any authorised inspecting officer".
Article 15(7) states that a driver must be able to produce record sheets for the current week and the last day of the previous week on which he drove when requested to do so by an authorised inspecting officer.
However, because this EC Regulation does not apply to a specialised breakdown vehicle, the above powers do not exist in relation to records voluntarily kept in the vehicle by the driver and operator.
2 Section 99(1)(bh) of the Transport Act 1968 empowers police and Ministry examiners to require any person to produce and permit him to inspect and copy "any record sheet which that person is required by Article 14(2) of the Community Recording Equipment Regulation to retain or by Article 15(7) of that Regulation to be able to produce".
Since this power relates only to records sheets required to be kept under the EC Regulation—which does not apply to a specialised breakdown vehicle—police and examiners have no power under the Transport Act to require production of tachograph records kept voluntarily