Tachograph and Transport Documentation
This domain tests practical tachograph operation under Regulation (EU) 165/2014 and the paperwork a Category C driver must be able to produce at a roadside check in Greece.
The recording equipment
Digital and smart tachographs record speed, distance, driving, other work, availability and break. The driver card is personal, valid for five years, and must never be used by anyone else. The correct mode must be selected: driving is recorded automatically, but the driver must manually select other work or break for everything else, including a period in the workshop or a wash.
Manual entries, printouts and records
Manual entries must be made at the start of the shift for any activity since the card was last withdrawn, for example a ferry crossing or a night at home. At a roadside inspection you must be able to show the current day plus the previous 28 days of records, on the card or as printouts. Printouts used in place of a missing record must carry name, card number and signature.
Calibration, seals and defects
The unit is calibrated by an approved workshop at least every two years, with seals and a plaque showing the next calibration date. A defective unit must be reported and covered by handwritten records until repair.
Lost or stolen card
Report it to the issuing authority without delay, apply for a replacement within seven calendar days, and drive only with printouts and manual annotations covering the missing period.
Transport documentation
Carry the CMR or consignment note, delivery and collection documents, the transport licence where required, the insurance certificate, the ΚΤΕΟ certificate, the driver CPC card and, for dangerous goods, the ADR certificate and written instructions. Operators must download driver-card data at least every 28 days and vehicle-unit data every 90 days.
Worked example
A driver realises his card has been in another vehicle since yesterday. Reasoning: he prints out the day's record from the current vehicle unit, writes his name and card number on it, signs it and keeps it for the 28-day period, then annotates on the back the reason for the missing record. He does not drive on somebody else's card and does not leave the mode on break while the printout is being produced.
Traps that cost marks
Leaving the selector on break during unloading; forgetting manual entries after a ferry; assuming printouts can replace an absent card indefinitely without a written explanation; not knowning the calibration date on the plaque.