Installation of Digital Tachographs postponed

Publication date: 29 April 2004

The European Commission has decided to postpone the proposed date for installing digital tachographs in all new trucks and buses by one year.

The deadline planned for in Regulation 2135/98/EC is August 5, 2004 but a moratorium set by the Commission extends it by twelve months. In a letter addressed to Member States and accession countries, dated April 19, from Loyola de Palacio, European Commissioner for Transport, the decision is explained by delays by tachograph manufacturers in introducing their equipment for type approval.

During the extension, Member States must ensure that all relevant vehicles are equipped with a recording device, either digital or analogue. Vehicle manufacturers are allowed to install the current analogue tachograph in new vehicles until August 5, 2005, at the latest.