When were tachographs first introduced?
The tachograph has been with us for sixteen years now. It was seen by many as “the spy in the cab” but has now become part of our every day life as an LGV driver. The early tachographs or recording equipment as they are called within legislation, were mechanical. Then we moved onto the early electronic units but as with the mechanical units these were open to abuse by those who wished to break the law and abuse driver hour’s regulations. To try and combat any interference the manufacturers incorporated diagnostic features and used armoured cables. So that’s the analogue tachograph as we know it, a recording device that marks the driver’s periods of duty onto a waxed paper disc, a position is marked on the wax paper closer or farther away from the centre of the disk depending on the speed of the vehicle. The only problem with the tachograph paper disk is that it is vulnerable to damage and can be tampered with.
