Tachograph and driver card

The tachograph (färdskrivare) is the lorry's "logbook". It records how long you drive, work and rest, and it makes it possible for the police and vehicle inspectors (bilinspektörer) to check that the driving and rest times are being followed. The rules are in Regulation (förordning) (EU) nr 165/2014. Today almost all lorries have a digital or smart tachograph, so that is what we assume here.

Four kinds of card

There are four types of tachograph card:

• Driver card (förarkort): used by you as the driver to record your driving and rest. It is personal and valid for five years.
• Company card (företagskort): used by the transport undertaking to download driving and rest time data.
• Control card (kontrollkort): used by enforcement authorities, for example the police.
• Workshop card (verkstadskort): used by approved workshops that repair or check tachographs.

The driver card is personal

The driver card is yours and yours alone. You may only hold one valid driver card and may only use your own (Article 27). So if a colleague has forgotten their card, you may not lend them yours. That is prohibited, because the records would then show the wrong person.

When the working day begins

1. Insert your driver card in slot 1 before you start driving. If there are two drivers, the co-driver puts their card in slot 2.
2. Enter the country where the working day begins.
3. Manually enter what you have done since the last record, for example other work before you got to the vehicle.

You must use the driver card every day you drive, from the moment you take over the vehicle (Article 34.1).

During the working day

The driver card must stay in the tachograph. You may only remove it if it is not possible to leave it in, for example when you change vehicles. So if you take a break and then continue driving the same vehicle, the card must stay in.

The tachograph records four activities, each with its own symbol (Article 34.5):

• Driving: time recorded when the vehicle is moving.
• Other work (annat arbete): all work except driving, for example loading, unloading, refuelling and administration, for the same or another employer.
• Availability (tillgänglighet): time when you are available for work but not working, for example while waiting to load.
• Break or rest (rast eller vila): time you can dispose of freely.

It is your responsibility to make sure the correct activity is selected. If you drive a stretch that is exempt from the driving and rest time rules and then continue with ordinary driving, the exempt driving is recorded as other work.

If you accompany the vehicle on a ferry or train during a rest, you select the ferry/train symbol for that period.

When the working day ends

Enter the country where you stop driving. A smart tachograph also saves the position automatically. When you cross a national border, a version 2 smart tachograph records the crossing itself. With an older tachograph you must enter the country code for the country you are entering at the first suitable stopping place.

Producing records at a check

At a roadside check you must be able to show records of your activities for the current day and the previous 56 days. This includes the driver card, manual entries and printouts. If you have driven a vehicle with an analogue tachograph during the period, you must also carry the record sheets (diagramblad) (Article 36).

If the card malfunctions or goes missing

If your driver card is damaged, stops working, is lost or stolen, the following applies:

• Report it to Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency) and apply for a replacement card within seven calendar days (Article 29.4). Theft must also be reported to the police.
• You may continue driving without a card for no more than 15 calendar days, or longer if necessary to return the vehicle to the company's premises (Article 29.5).
• In the meantime you account for your time with printouts from the tachograph. Make a printout when the day begins, when it ends and when you change vehicles.
• A damaged or faulty card must be returned to Transportstyrelsen (Article 29.2).

The transport undertaking's responsibility

The data in the tachograph and on the driver card must be kept. The transport undertaking must copy (download) it:

• from the driver card within 28 days at the latest,
• from the vehicle unit within 90 days at the latest.

The company must also ensure that its drivers have received training and instructions and regularly check that the equipment is used correctly. The company may not encourage drivers to misuse the tachograph (Article 33.1).

Manipulation is prohibited

It is prohibited to falsify, conceal or destroy data in the tachograph. There may not even be a device in the vehicle that makes such manipulation possible (Article 32.3). This applies whether or not the device is used.

Remember

• The driver card is personal and valid for five years. Never lend it to anyone.
• The card is inserted in slot 1 by the person driving and must stay in during the working day.
• Enter the country when the day begins and ends.
• Four activities: driving, other work, availability, and break and rest.
• At a check: show the current day and the previous 56 days.
• Faulty or lost card: apply for a new one within seven days and drive no more than 15 days using printouts.
• The driver card is downloaded within 28 days and the vehicle unit within 90 days.