Tachograph fines
What does a tachograph violation cost?
Tachograph violations cost between 2000 – 6000 kr. per violation for the company.
The driver cannot be fined for violations with the tachograph.
When the Police check for violations during a roadside inspection, they look at 28 days.
When the Danish Road Traffic Authority checks for driving & rest time violations (including tachograph violations), they look at an entire month, i.e., from the 1st to the last day of a given month.
Fine for violation of the Tachograph Regulation
- Driving without a driver card.
- Incorrect or missing login/lock-in with company card.
- Vehicle files that cannot be validated (corrupted/empty)
- Exceeded calibration/inspection date for tachograph
Driving without a driver card:
If the authorities can see that the vehicle has been used without a driver card in the tachograph, they will initially request an explanation and documentation. If they do not find the explanation sufficient, e.g., that the tachograph was set to OUT or the driver's card was lost, they can fine the company 6000 DKK per day driven without a driver card. If the company is aware of which driver drove the vehicle without a driver card, the driver can also be fined 3000 DKK per day driven without a driver card.
Incorrect or missing login/lock-in with company card in the tachograph:
When purchasing, renting, or leasing a vehicle with a tachograph, the first step is to log in with your company card in the tachograph.
Forgetting this can result in a fine of 2000 DKK per vehicle that is not logged in/locked into.
Vehicle files that cannot be validated (corrupted/empty):
If a data file from a vehicle cannot be validated, the Danish Road Traffic Authority and the Police will not approve it. They will request a re-download of the vehicle data, but if the data is corrupted or the tachograph is broken, it will not be possible to extract new data from the tachograph retroactively. If data cannot be provided for an inspection, it costs 6000 DKK per day of missing data. If not a single day can be provided in the month being checked by the Danish Road Traffic Authority, a fine of 126,000 DKK may be imposed.
The Danish Road Traffic Authority usually calculates the amount based on 21 working days in a month (21 x 6000 = 126,000).
A corrupted data file can be caused by several factors, such as a defective day in the data file, security breaches in the tachograph, unapproved technical data, and several other reasons. We always send an email to our customers if we receive a corrupted data file. You can also see it if you log in to your TachoManagement.
An empty data file is usually due to not being logged in with your company card in the tachograph. A company card functions as a house key to the data, and you can therefore only download data that contains activities from the period when you are logged in with the company card. If the previous owner of the vehicle is still logged in to the tachograph, the tachograph can only be read with their company card. If there is no company card logged into the tachograph, it may be possible to read data, but you could still risk a fine of 2000 DKK for not being logged in with a company card.
Exceeded calibration/inspection date for tachograph:
When purchasing, renting, or leasing a vehicle with a tachograph, the tachograph must be calibrated every two years; this is also called tachograph inspection. If this is overlooked and the tachograph is not calibrated, it can cost 2000 DKK in the event of an inspection.