The Ministry of the Interior has issued a circular clarifying the issues related to driving in awaiting the issuance of the tachograph card, that is, driving without a tachograph card.The problem had taken on some significance, as it was not clear what behavior to adopt in the case of a request for the issuance of the tachograph card submitted but with the card not yet physically received:
could the driver drive? How should they document their activity?What does the ministerial circular say about driving without a tachograph card?
Following the ministerial circular, these questions have now found answers. It is now clarified that the individual, after having submitted a
request for the issuance of the driver card to the Chamber of Commerce and while awaiting the receipt of the tachograph card itself, may drive a vehicle equipped with a digital tachograph for a maximum of 30 days from the date of the request.Sanctions for driving without a tachograph card
Penalties for driving without a tachograph card
Rimane ovviamente l’obbligo, per tutti i conducenti, di documentare l’attività di guida svolta. A tal fine, si può provvedere utilizzando la procedura di registrazione manuale descritta nell’art. 35, paragraph 2 of Regulation 165/2014. The cited article regulates the cases of damage, malfunction, loss, or theft of the driver's card, but the procedure has now also been extended to this new case. The driver must therefore accurately record, on the back of the printed tachograph, all activities carried out during the day. Failure to do so will result in penalties for driving without a tachograph card.
The Ministry also specifies that in the event of a check by law enforcement, in addition to presenting the manual records, the driver must also present the receipt of the request for issuance of the tachograph card to the competent Chamber of Commerce.