Missing tachograph card and records
It is Monday 08:10. You are due to take a 34-seat coach out at 08:30. You realise your digital tachograph driver card is at home, 25 miles away. The vehicle has a digital tachograph. You have a photocopy of your driving licence and your DQC card. You drove last Wednesday and Friday; you have not downloaded your card for 20 days. The operator's transport manager is on leave. The vehicle's MOT certificate is in the office, not in the cab; the PSV disc is displayed. You have a manual entry book.
1. Can you drive? What must you do about the missing card?
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You may drive without the card, but only under the lost/malfunction/not-in-possession procedure. The card is not lost; it is at home, so the quickest fix is to have it brought to you if that can be done before departure. If not, you may drive for up to 15 calendar days without it. At the start, print the vehicle unit data, write your name and card number on it, and make manual entries for your start time and any other work since your last card use. Repeat at the end of the duty. Carry the printouts. If the card were lost or stolen, you would also need to apply for a replacement within 7 days.
2. What documents and records must you carry or be able to produce?
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Carry your driving licence, your Driver CPC qualification card, the current day's printouts and manual entries, and your record for the previous 28 days (printouts or card data). The PSV disc must be displayed; the MOT certificate need not be in the cab but the operator must be able to produce it. The photocopy of the licence is not a substitute for the original if you are required to produce it. Keep the printouts in date order.
3. What is the position on the 20 days since the card was downloaded?
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Twenty days is within the 28-day download interval for the driver card, so no download breach has yet occurred, but you must download it before day 28. The operator must also download the vehicle unit every 90 days. Because the card is at home, get it and download it as soon as possible; until then the printouts are your record. Check that the 28 days of records are complete and that any manual entries are signed and dated.