What is the future of digitalisation in EU commercial road transport, inside and outside the vehicle?
To kick off the autumn season in Brussels, IRU is bringing together industry and political leaders to explore future opportunities of digital technology in the road transport industry.
The event, taking place on Tuesday 5 September in Brussels, will feature prominent Members of the European Parliament Marian Jean Marinescu and Petar Vitanov, the Deputy Head of Cabinet for the Transport Commissioner at the European Commission, Filip-Alexandru Negreanu-Arboreanu, and the Head of Legal Requirements at IRU member Continental, Matthias Kliché.
The second part of the event will include a live demonstration of digital services offered to transport companies and Continental’s new smart tachograph version 2, as well as a networking cocktail with industry leaders, leading Members of the European Parliament, and representatives of the European Commission and Member States.
The new tachograph
The EU’s new smart tachograph version 2 (SMT2) includes additional features, such as automatic (as opposed to manual) registration of border crossings.
SMT2 devices also allow enforcers to view data remotely, which may reduce the number of stops for roadside checks and can ease the life of drivers and enforcers by targeting only frequent and heavy offenders.
In addition to verifying compliance with driving and rest time rules, the SMT2 will be a key instrument to check compliance with rules governing cabotage operations and the posting of drivers.
The SMT2’s integrated Bluetooth interface also boosts connectivity, enabling it to be controlled with external devices such as smartphones. SMT2 devices come already setup for the new digital driver card, which has an increased storage capacity of 56 days, up from 28.
Since 21 August 2023, newly registered commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes must be equipped with the SMT2. But given the delays in the availability of SMT2 devices, IRU has asked the European Commission to recommend that Member States provide a grace period until the end of 2023 to prevent the blockage of tens of thousands of new trucks and coaches.
Between the end of 2024 and August 2025, the SMT2 will become mandatory for all heavy-duty vehicle categories that cross borders in the EU.