Possible Application of Short Range Communication Technologies in the Digital Tachograph System to Support Vehicles Filtering during Road Controls

The existing Digital Tachograph is a regulatory instrument (mandatory by Council Regulation since 1 May 2006) to enforce the application of social regulations in road transport especially with the view to increase traffic safety. It records the work and the rest times of drivers as well as the vehicle speed over time with the aim to ensure that appropriate rest periods are taken by drivers and that a maximum of permissible speed is not exceeded. The original and prime functionality of the Digital Tachograph is to document, i.e. to record, the driving history of a driver and his vehicle. Nevertheless controls by the road safety authorities are rather inefficient while timeconsuming. The proposed update to the existing regulation would rather guarantee the Digital Tachograph as a compliance device rather than as an accurate recorder of driving history. Basic innovation is the application of short range communication technologies (like RFID) allowing the road authorities to scan by-passing vehicles and thus increasing the throughput by the order of ten. A A p p p p l ll i ii c c a a t tt i ii o o n n o o f ff S S h h o o r rr t tt R R a a n n g g e e C C o o mmu u n n i ii c c a a t tt i ii o o n n T T e e c c h h n n o o l ll o o g g i ii e e s s i ii n n t tt h h e e D D i ii g g i ii t tta a l ll T T a a c c h h o o g g r rra a p p h h S S y y s s t tt e e m P P a a g g e e 4 4 1 1 How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758. A A p p p p l ll i ii c c a a t tt i ii o o n n o o f ff S S h h o o r rr t tt R R a a n n g g e e C C o o mmu u n n i ii c c a a t tt i ii o o n n T T e e c c h h n n o o l ll o o g g i ii e e s s i ii n n t tt h h e e D D i ii g g i ii t tta a l ll T T a a c c h h o o g g r rra a p p h h S S y y s s t tt e e m P P a a g g e e 4 4 2 2 The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national. LB -N A -2494-EN -C