One in two haulage fleets will be fitted with a digital tachograph within a year, said the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

A survey by the FTA of more than 1,000 delegates at its digital tachograph presentations held last month, revealed 55 per cent planned to acquire a new vehicle within 12 months. Operators with larger fleet sizes were more likely to be early adopters of the digital technology and 78 per cent said they hired drivers and/or vehicles, and so required knowledge of and compliance with digital tachograph operations, it showed.

FTA will now be repeating the series of member-only free briefings throughout April before May 1, the implementation date for the tachographs.

FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham said: “Members clearly appreciated the January events, with more than 80 per cent of delegates telling us they regarded the presentation as 'good' or 'excellent'. The days left before Digital Day are getting fewer, and there is a massive job in hand to train managers, drivers and transport office staff on what is required to record drivers' hours and remain legally compliant.

“The advice from FTA is to get to grips with the new situation sooner rather than later - as the days of the digital get closer, then so will the demand for training and systems get bigger. Don't get caught out.”

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