About the driver card
The personal driver card is a credit card-sized plastic card that contains a microchip. The card can store all relevant driver data required for EU Drivers’ Hours regulations including break and rest times.
Important details
Your driver card:
- Is unique to the individual driver and valid for five years,
- Can store information for 28 days,
- Can only be used by its owner, ie. the driver authorised to use it,
- May be suspended or withdrawn by an enforcement officer if the card has been falsified, if the person using the card is not the legal holder of the card, or if the card has been obtained by false declaration or forged documents,
- Must be made available to enforcement officers on request.
How to use your driver card
Before a journey begins (eg, when loading/unloading or driving) you must insert your driver card into the appropriate slot in the digital tachograph unit.
Where a vehicle is double-manned, both driver and co-driver slots are used.
Similar to an analogue tachograph, a digital tachograph will record your activities such as driving, other work, breaks and rest.
When you are doing manual entry of data into the tachograph you will be asked (via the units menu) if you have driven any other vehicle that day and must select whether it was by digital or analogue-recorded method.
If you are driving a vehicle fitted with an analogue tachograph you should have a chart to record your activities.
You must also make daily printouts when changing between vehicles fitted with analogue and digital tachographs. This guarantees that there is a complete record (printouts and charts) of driving activities for the current week and the last working day of the previous week.
Downloading data
Data must be downloaded from the driver card every 21 days. This can be done by you, or your employer (if you give them permission). Regardless of who downloads it, the data should be retained for inspection by enforcement officers for a period of at least 12 months.
Agency drivers
In you work for more than one company, you need to download data every 21 days from the driver card and retain it for inspection.