From August 21, 2023, a second-version smart tachograph must be installed in all newly registered commercial vehicles in the European Union.
More Safety and Fairness on Europe’s Roads
Continental has received the KBA’s type approval for the VDO DTCO 4.1. This version of the smart tachograph specified by the EU Mobility Package 1 introduces new and partly modified functions and provides reliable data for more efficient controls in international freight transport.
The mobility package not only changes rest periods, it primarily regulates the obligations to provide proof of cabotage trips and the posting of driving personnel. The new second version of the smart tachograph will now enable the control and enforcement of these regulations.
As provided for in the Implementing Regulation (EU 2021/1228), newly registered commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 metric tons must be equipped with second-version smart tachographs from August 21, 2023. Continental recommends that the conversion be carried out during the legally prescribed tachograph inspection – this will reduce vehicle downtimes in workshops.
Technical Enabler for more Transparency and New Data-based Services
One of the most important tasks of the new DTCO 4.1 is the improved documentation of cabotage trips and driver posting.
The DTCO 4.1 is also suitable for the new driver cards with expanded storage capacity from 28 to 56 days. These cards will become mandatory at the end of 2024. Data security is guaranteed by the legally required security certificate). The DTCO 4.1 already uses data from the European satellite navigation system Galileo, which will offer a future plus in data security.
The tachograph can transform data into trustworthy, secure, and uniquely assignable data. This will create opportunities that go far beyond legal and regulatory specifications, even encompassing data-based services that will make the jobs of commercial vehicle fleet operators much easier. One example here is the integration of toll services – the so-called tachograph toll – which Continental will offer for the first time in 2024, together with the toll service provider Axxès.
