It’s the end of an error
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CM takes a look at the full scale of the digital tachograph failure that rocked the road transport industry earlier this year
By Chris Druce
ACCORDING to the DVLA, the issue that saw up to 190,000 digital tachograph cards at risk of failure earlier this year, throwing the road transport sector into chaos, has been rectified and will not reoccur.
Drivers, training providers and operators began reporting back in March that their tachograph cards were failing without warning. Users reported a range of error messages when trying to use the cards, such as ‘error code 48’ , ‘card not valid’ , ‘card error’ and ‘card expired’ .
Managing the crisis
The DVLA issued a series of advice in response. It also secured a temporary dispensation, which meant Vosa would not prosecute any owners of faulty cards while it sent out replacements.
However, the DVLA attracted plenty of flak, with accusations of both poor communication, resourcing (initially) and release of information.
Ian Gallagher, Freight Transport Association (FTA) policy manager for the South West and Wales, told CM (26 April) that “as an organisation [the FTA was] not impressed” , echoing the frustration felt by many others in the industry. Now, in response to questions posed by CM, the DVLA has revealed that up to 175,000 driver cards and 15,000 company cards issued between March 2007 and August 2008 were affected.
The figure for company cards is twice that of what was reported at the time. The DVLA opted to reissue all of the company cards on a priority basis, while drivers were offered replacements for their individual cards on a returns basis.
As of the official closure date for the return of the affected cards at the end of June, 60,000 driver tachograph cards had been replaced for free.
The DVLA also wrote to 134,000 drivers to inform them of the problem and the returns procedure (and after the FTA’s suggestion, it even included a prepaid envelope with the letter).
‘It won’t happen again’
On the subject of the failure, a spokesman for the DVLA said: “There was an issue with the chip on the tachograph cards issued between March 2007 and August 2008, which meant that under certain circumstances the card would malfunction. The issue is resolved and will not reoccur. We are not aware of any other issues.” Gallagher, while concerned that the DVLA has remained tightlipped about the exact technical reason behind the failure of the cards, said an absence of recent calls about cards to the FTA’s member advice centre supports the claim the problem is fixed. “I think we should take their word,” he said.
The episode has not been consequence-free, however. “In the end cards were replaced sooner than originally feared, which was good,” said Gallagher.
“But I know of some international operators that were fined by overseas enforcement agencies [as a result of not having a working digital card].” l The DVLA has confirmed that it recently changed its card manufacturer, but that the decision was not connected to the failures.
TIMELY ADVICE
CM was recently contacted by a driver based in Northern Ireland who on inserting a new card on 1 November received an ‘error code 48’ message that prevented him from producing a printout of his data. The DVLA has said this is an isolated event to the best of its knowledge, and that “unfortunately some tachograph cards may malfunction”. If this does occur, a driver has 15 days’ grace where they can drive while awaiting a free replacement (although they need to report the fault within seven days to avoid a fee).
Contact the DVLA Tachograph Smart Card Helpline on 0300 790 6109. Or for more information and an application form, go to gov.uk/tachographs/