Smart tachograph rules now reach more international vans

A full Smart Tachograph 2 is required in goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes used on international journeys for hire or reward. The rules bring many vans and light goods vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes into tachograph and assimilated drivers' hours requirements for the first time.

Vehicles used only in the UK are treated differently and are not brought into tachograph scope by this international rule alone.

An own-account journey may be exempt when driving is not the driver's main activity. Non-commercial carriage can also fall outside the rule. Operators should test the actual work against the official definitions rather than relying on the vehicle being described as a van.

Check the plated maximum mass including any trailer, confirm whether the movement is for hire or reward and establish which drivers' hours regime applies.

That decision should be made before the vehicle and driver are allocated. Installation, calibration, card use and record downloads all need enough lead time; they are not details that can be corrected once an international journey is already under way.