Estimates suggest that at least 2,5 million commercially used passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Germany alone will fall under the new regulations. (Photo: © Baloncici/123RF.com)
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June 6, 2018
The trade fears bureaucratic burdens due to an extension of the tachograph requirement to vehicles with a permissible total weight between 2,4 and 3,5 tonnes.
More bureaucracy and less mobility. That's what the skilled trades fear after the European Parliament's Transport Committee voted to extend the mandatory installation of digital tachographs to vehicles with a permissible total weight between 2,4 and 3,5 metric tons. Estimates suggest that this would bring at least 2,5 million commercially used passenger cars and light commercial vehicles into the new scope of application in Germany alone. Many tradespeople with such vehicles would also be affected. For Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), the vote to extend the tachograph requirement is a "severe blow for small and medium-sized craft businesses." Currently, it applies to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 3,5 metric tons or more.
The European Commission 's original proposal within its "Europe on the Move" regulatory package did not include an expansion of the tachograph requirement. It only came to light as an amendment proposed by the Transport Committee. "EU parliamentarians should demonstrate a greater understanding of the realities and operational needs of small businesses," demands Schwannecke. He estimates that the tachograph requirement and the associated bureaucracy will cost a business around €1.500. "If policymakers want to better control long-distance freight and passenger transport, the regulations must be specifically tailored to this sector from the outset and not burden other areas of the economy."
It is certainly right to require freight forwarders and other logistics companies to install digital tachographs. But it is completely unacceptable that other sectors would then also be heavily burdened. "The situation in the skilled trades is completely different from that in the transport sector." Here, it's not professional drivers who are at work, but the tradespeople themselves. Driving times play a completely subordinate role in this context. "With their decision, the MEPs want to treat these roofers, bakers, and carpenters the same as long-haul truck drivers by extending the tachograph requirement to vehicles over 2,4 tons," said Schwannecke. But it serves no one if such tradespeople have to go through the cumbersome process of proving that they drive less than the permitted 56 hours per week. "That simply doesn't exist in the skilled trades."
From the perspective of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), the exemptions for tradespeople offer little relief: "While the existing exemption for tradespeople is supposed to remain within a 100-kilometer radius, it must be examined on a case-by-case basis whether this complex exemption can actually be applied." Based on years of experience, there are always many situations in everyday business that do not fall under the exemption. "This legal uncertainty is also unacceptable," says the ZDH Secretary General. The restriction of the tachograph requirement for lower weight categories to international transport is also only a minor improvement and merely the first step towards later expansion to include domestic transport operations in the lower weight categories.
The Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany - HWK Münster
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An amendment proposed by the Employment Committee, which was adopted contrary to the compromise recommendation of the Transport Committee, could mean relief for the skilled trades. According to this amendment, the tachograph requirement will not apply to light commercial vehicles used for transporting goods if the transport is not for commercial purposes and the driver does not drive as their main occupation. However, it is still unclear whether this will specifically exempt all vehicles used by tradespeople with a weight of less than 3,5 tons. Schwannecke: "With the wording adopted at the last minute, the members of parliament are addressing a long-standing demand from the skilled trades sector to exempt transport vehicles under 3,5 tons from the tachograph requirement outside the actual transport sector. It is now crucial that this positive interim result is confirmed in further negotiations and especially in the final plenary vote."
One positive aspect of the decision is the creation of an improved exemption for the construction industry. Schwannecke stated: "Instead of further expanding the scope of application, this path should be pursued, and the exemption for tradespeople should also be improved and extended to 150 kilometers in further discussions." However, it remains to be seen whether and how the existing regulation will be amended. The European Parliament still needs to approve the plans. Changes are still possible before then. "If Europe is serious about its promise to reduce bureaucracy and increase citizen participation, the vote in the plenary session must be corrected." The individual ministers of the member states have also not yet clarified their position on the expansion of the tachograph requirement in the Council of the EU.
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