Major changes are coming soon for so-called van operators. The European Commission is proposing a series of amendments to Regulation 1072/2009 regarding the pursuit of the occupation of road transport operator. It is very possible that companies operating a light fleet of vehicles transporting goods to the territories of Community countries will soon be required to hold a license, just like heavy transport companies.
This is not a revolution, but a regulation that is taking small steps toward legalizing digital tachographs to record the working time of drivers of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes. And that will be a real challenge, as currently, the recording of driving periods is not as meticulous as it is in trucks. Van operators take on loads that are not covered by semi-trucks. Will there be fewer Polish vans on European roads due to the new act?
Lower weight, bigger problem
The most important change will cover the minimum weight of vehicles above which transport permits and a Community license are required. Until now, the upper limit—unless a given Member State decided otherwise and from which cabotage rules applied[1]—was 3.5 tonnes. The proposed amendments lower this limit to 2.4 tonnes. Why does the update of the regulations raise controversy? Well, lowering the permissible gross weight value means in this case that many transport companies and van drivers will be subject to different, more restrictive rules for access to the European market.
– The proposed changes to Regulation 1072/2009 are another step toward the unification of the road transport market. Until now, the regulations governing the work of drivers were inconsistent and spread across too many separate provisions, which led to problems with their interpretation. Countries such as Germany and France define the rules for driving vehicles quite precisely, but in Poland, there is a problem, for example, with the definition of the driver profession. Under Polish law, this term does not distinguish between a van driver and a truck driver. This means that a given employee, if they have the appropriate qualifications, can drive both categories of vehicles, and in that case, their working time will be subject to two different legal standards. This is an obvious inconvenience creating room for over-interpretation of legal provisions – notes Łukasz Włoch, chief expert at the National Center for Driver Settlement (OCRK).
The proposed regulations regarding licenses will also mean that companies performing transport with vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes will have to meet additional criteria. The most important of these is the obligation to demonstrate financial liquidity, confirmed by all offices and certificates, and to have a permanent establishment where all documents related to conducting business will be stored. This provision may prove to be the most problematic for Polish entrepreneurs, the so-called van operators.
Tacho in a van soon?
Changes in regulations regarding “small” vehicles may consequently also lead in the future to the need to install tachographs in them. Amendments to the EU regulation of January 10, 2019[2] clearly point to the MEPs’ desire for the fastest possible implementation of smart devices, which were already mentioned in Regulation 165/2014.
– All changes in regulations that lead to wider use of tachographs are a step in the right direction. Van drivers, due to existing legislation, were not required to use them, which naturally led to a plague of exhausted people working behind the wheel who drive for even several weeks on the road. Germany, whose country is a popular destination for Polish carriers, pays particular attention to this issue. The problem is serious because it could involve as many as 100,000 vehicles. The issue here is primarily road safety, but it also has a social dimension, i.e., HR and payroll, because the lack of a recorder significantly hinders the calculation of hourly rates and the settlement of rest time – says Łukasz Włoch.
Regulations regarding the obligation to install tachographs have not yet been formally voted on, but they are inevitable. When driving to the West, Polish van operators should remember that in many European countries, regulations on driver working time are much more restrictive and strictly enforced, including, of course, for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes. In France, for example, in accordance with a recent update of guidelines on working hours, all drivers (including foreign ones) are required to record worked hours and rest periods in a Control Book (Livret individuel de contrôle), but it can also be another document confirming working time. High penalties apply for their absence—from 90 to even 750 euros.
And what next?
EU regulations are a step toward unifying the rules that apply in various forms in many countries of the old continent. However, while the requirements related to tachographs solve the rather controversial issue of settling the work of van operators and should definitely improve road safety, some of the provisions regarding the storage of documents are formulated quite draconically. They may therefore hit Polish companies, which will have to face additional administrative burdens. On the other hand, uniform law for all drivers could also positively influence the improvement of the situation on the labor market in the TSL sector, which is suffering from staff shortages. This is beneficial both for those driving vans, as they can work according to one standard, eliminating abuses, and for companies that could more easily acquire employees without having to apply different regulations.
[1] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&reference=PE-632.703&format=PDF&language=EN&secondRef=01
[2] http://www.europarl.europa.eu