As with every year, the deadline for the deletion of tachograph data, as mandated by EU regulations, is approaching. In Germany, for example, under Section 1 Paragraph 6 of the German Drivers' Working Hours Regulation (FPersV), companies are required to delete data from digital tachographs after a retention period of one year outside the vehicle. This period ends on the 31st March of the following calendar year.
For detailed information on which data are affected, please refer to our 2022 article (German).
Note: This only affects data files from the tachographs and driver cards; all other data from your booked services will not be deleted and will remain as per the data retention period granted in the product.
Different Retention Periods?
Extended Retention Times
In certain cases, it is necessary to retain tachograph data beyond the regular deadline. Here are some selected key scenarios that may require extended storage:
- Working Time Recording and Payroll Longer storage periods are needed if tachograph data are used for these purposes, sometimes up to 10 years.
- Unforeseen Events In cases of accidents or vehicle breakdowns, longer retention is required, at least until the investigation is concluded.
- Inquiries by Authorities Data should be kept until the conclusion of police or official investigations.
- Legal Disputes In legal disputes between drivers and employers or between employers and authorities.
- Internal Company Reasons A company may choose to retain data longer for internal reasons, ensuring the data is kept safe and protected.
For further explanations and comprehensive information on this subject, please also refer to our detailed article from the previous year (German) here.
However, there are specific situations where companies are required to retain data for longer periods, such as during ongoing investigations or when tachograph and driver card data are used as a basis for working time or payroll calculations. Customers affected by such special regulations are requested to contact us in time to arrange a different retention period.
For detailed information on potential different retention periods, please refer to our article from the previous year (German).
A quick review of the currently stored retention periods can also be found in our portal under Management/Driver Compliance.
For customers using our industry-leading solutions for automatic download of tachograph and driver card data, we guarantee the implementation of legal retention and archiving requirements as well as compliance with the relevant deletion deadlines. Our goal is to provide you with the utmost safety and compliance, allowing you to focus on your core business.
If you need more information or have specific questions about the upcoming deletion deadline, please feel free to contact us. We are always ready to advise and assist you with all matters concerning tachograph data.
Interested in our offerings for automatic tachograph download?
Visit our theme page if you want to learn more about tachograph data and remote reading of tachographs and driver cards:
https://online-tacho.de
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