The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment) Regulations 2023

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment) Regulations 2023 and come into force on 21st August 2023.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Amendment of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014

2.—(1) Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on tachographs in road transport is amended as follows.

(2) In Article 2(2) (definitions), in point (z4), for point (iv) substitute—

“(iv) the standards in Annex IC to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 of 18 March 2016 implementing Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the requirements for the construction, testing, installation, operation and repair of smart tachographs and their components(1), as it has effect in EU law, as modified by the Schedule to the Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment) Regulations 2023(2).”.

(3) In Article 3 (scope)—

(a) after paragraph (1), insert—

“1za Other than in the case of vehicles equipped with a smart tachograph 2, a smart tachograph 1 must be installed and used in vehicles registered for the first time on or before 20th February 2024.”;

(b) in paragraph (1a), for “21st August 2023” substitute “21st February 2024”;

(c) in paragraph (1b)—

(i) in the words before point (a), omit “other”;

(ii) before point (a) insert—

“(za) on or after 21st August 2023, in the case of vehicles registered for the first time on or after that date;”.

(4) In Article 8 (recording of the position of the vehicle at certain points during the daily working period), in paragraph (1)—

(a) in the third subparagraph, for “31st December 2024” substitute “21st August 2023”;

(b) in the last subparagraph, for the words from “apply to vehicles” to the end substitute—

“apply—

(a) to vehicles registered for the first time on or after 21st August 2023, but only when operating on the territory of a party to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the one part, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the other part entered into on 30th December 2020(3), other than the territory where they are registered;

(b) to vehicles registered for the first time on or after 21st February 2024,

without limiting the obligation to retrofit certain vehicles later in accordance with Article 3(1b)”.

(5) In Article 9 (remote early detection of possible manipulation or misuse), in paragraph (1), for “31st December 2024” substitute “21st August 2023”.

(6) In Article 10 (interface with Intelligent Transport Systems)—

(a) in the words before point (a), for “31st December 2024” substitute “21st August 2023”;

(b) for point (b) substitute—

“(b) the interface complies with the standards referred to in Article 2(2)(z4)(iv);”;

(c) omit the last sentence.

Modifications to Annex IC to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799

3.  The Schedule makes modifications to Annex IC to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 for the purpose of Article 2(2)(z4) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014.

Review

4.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a) carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in these Regulations, and

(b) publish a report setting out the conclusions of the review.

(2) The first report must be published before 21st August 2026.

(3) Subsequent reports must be published at intervals not exceeding 5 years.

(4) Section 30(3) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015(4) requires that a review carried out under this regulation must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how the obligations included in Section 2 of Part C of Annex 31 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the one part, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the other part entered into on 30th December 2020, are implemented by the other party to such agreement.

(5) Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires that a report published under this regulation must, in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision referred to in paragraph (1)(a),

(b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved,

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate, and

(d) if those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision.

(6) In this regulation, “regulatory provision” has the same meaning as in sections 28 to 32 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (see section 32 of that Act).

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Richard Holden

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

5th July 2023