Your tachograph records everything: every kilometre driven, every break taken, every minute of other work. Getting the symbols wrong is not a minor administrative slip. Under EC Regulation No 561/2006 and the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005, incorrect records can mean fixed penalty notices for drivers and, for operators, reports to the Traffic Commissioner that put an O licence at risk.
This guide covers every symbol you will encounter on a digital tachograph: the four core activity modes, card type icons, operational state indicators, fault tacho symbols, and how to interpret a printout. Where the rules have edge cases that catch drivers out, those are covered too.
Table of Contents
The Four Core Tachograph Activity Symbols
Every shift is built from four activity states. Understanding precisely when each applies is the foundation of compliant record-keeping.
| Symbol | Icon | Activates | Counts as working time? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving | Steering wheel | Automatically when moving | Yes |
| Other Work | Two crossed hammers | Manual selection | Yes |
| Period of Availability (POA) | Square with diagonal line | Manual selection | No |
| Rest/Break | Bed or recliner | Manual selection | No |
Driving (Steering Wheel)
This is the one symbol you never need to select. The moment your vehicle moves, the tachograph records driving time automatically against the driver card in slot 1. When you stop, most digital units switch back to ‘Other Work’ by default. That automatic switch matters: if you are actually taking a break at that point, you must manually change the mode to Rest/Break. Leaving it on ‘Other Work’ will count the break as working time, which can push you towards a Working Time Directive infringement before your shift is even over.
The driving symbol cannot be manually overridden while the vehicle is moving. If you are a second driver being transported but not driving, the relevant mode is POA, not Driving. Slot 2 of the vehicle unit handles the second driver’s card separately.
Other Work (Two Crossed Hammers)
Other Work covers every employer-related task that does not involve sitting behind the wheel with the vehicle in motion. Common examples include:
- Daily walkaround checks before departure
- Loading, unloading, or supervising loading
- Completing delivery notes, timesheets, or consignment paperwork
- Refuelling, cleaning, or checking fluid levels
- Coupling and uncoupling trailers
All of this time counts towards your 48-hour average weekly working time under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. A driver who does 45 minutes of pre-departure checks, drives for seven hours, spends 30 minutes on paperwork, and then takes a break has accumulated eight hours and 15 minutes of working time before rest, not seven hours. That distinction matters on long weeks.
The crossed hammers symbol is frequently misused for waiting time. If you are waiting at a loading bay with no confirmed expectation of how long you will be there, Other Work is correct. If you know in advance how long the wait will be, POA applies. The distinction is explained below.
Period of Availability (Square with Diagonal Line)
POA is the most misunderstood of the four tacho symbols. It applies when you are not working but are required to be available, and specifically when you know in advance roughly how long that wait will be.
Classic POA situations:
- Waiting at a loading bay when the driver has been told the slot time
- Accompanying a vehicle on a ferry or rail crossing (the tachograph has a specific ferry mode for this; see operational state icons below)
- Riding as a second driver without operating the vehicle
- Waiting at a delivery point where the duration is agreed or predictable
POA does not count as working time under the Working Time Regulations. This is the key practical difference from Other Work. For a driver close to their 48-hour weekly working time limit, correctly logging POA instead of Other Work can make a meaningful difference to their available hours.
One worked example: a driver arrives at a port at 06:30 for a 09:00 ferry crossing. The wait is known and predictable. The correct mode from 06:30 to the time of driving onto the ferry is POA. If the driver incorrectly logs it as Other Work, those two and a half hours inflate their working time total without a legal basis, and the record is inaccurate in a way that may be harder to explain at a roadside check.
Rest and Break (Bed)
The bed symbol covers all statutory breaks and rest periods. You must select it manually. It applies to:
- The compulsory 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving (which may be split into a 15-minute break followed by a 30-minute break, taken in that order, under EC Regulation 561/2006)
- Daily rest periods of at least 11 hours (or 9 hours for a reduced daily rest, maximum three times between weekly rests)
- Weekly rest periods
A common mistake is failing to switch to the rest symbol when parking up for a meal break. The tachograph does not know you have stopped for food. If the vehicle is stationary and you have not selected the bed symbol, the unit will likely be recording Other Work. That means your break does not count as a legal break.
Worked example: a driver has been driving for 4.5 hours and stops at a motorway service station. They go inside for food. If they do not change the tachograph mode to rest before leaving the cab, the 45 minutes spent eating is logged as Other Work, not as the required break. The driver effectively has no compliant break recorded, and is in breach of EC Regulation 561/2006.
Card Type and Operational State Icons
Beyond the four activity symbols, a digital tachograph uses a range of icons to show which cards are inserted, which mode the unit is operating in, and whether any special conditions apply.
The Four Card Types
| Card | Icon appearance | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Driver card | Person silhouette | Links all recorded activity to a named, licensed driver |
| Company card | Building outline | Allows the operator to download data or lock records to the company |
| Workshop card | Hammer and spanner | Used by approved technicians for calibration and maintenance |
| Control card | Helmet or shield | Gives DVSA enforcement officers access to all stored vehicle unit data |
Your driver’s card must be in slot 1 whenever you are driving. Driving without a card inserted is a serious offence. The tachograph records the absence of a card, and the data is visible to enforcement officers both on the vehicle unit and via the control card.
Out of Scope
The out-of-scope symbol (typically a vehicle with a cross through it) applies when the journey falls outside the drivers’ hours regulations. Examples include driving solely on private land or operating a vehicle exempt from the rules under Schedule 2 of the Drivers’ Hours (Goods Vehicles) (Keeping of Records) Regulations 1987.
This mode must only be used when the exemption genuinely applies. Incorrectly selecting out-of-scope to avoid recording driving time is a falsification offence, carrying penalties far more serious than a routine hours infringement.
Ferry and Rail Crossing Mode
When a driver takes their vehicle onto a ferry or train, the tachograph has a dedicated mode that allows a rest period to continue even if it is briefly interrupted by a short drive on or off the vessel. Without this mode, the act of driving onto the ferry would reset the rest period counter. The mode is accessed through the tachograph menu, not by selecting one of the four activity symbols.
Under EC Regulation 561/2006 Article 9, a regular daily rest or weekly rest may be interrupted no more than twice by other activities, each not exceeding one hour, when the driver accompanies a vehicle transported by ferry or train. The total rest must still meet the minimum requirement.
Fault and Event Symbols
Fault icons are the tachograph’s way of alerting you to a problem that needs action. Ignoring them is not an option. Most faults are logged permanently in the vehicle unit and will be visible to a DVSA officer during any inspection.
Equipment Malfunction
An exclamation mark or question mark symbol indicates a fault with the recording equipment itself. When this appears:
- Note the time and current odometer reading.
- Begin keeping manual records immediately, using the tachograph chart roll or a printout if one is available, noting all activity (driving, other work, availability, rest) manually.
- Have the vehicle unit repaired at an Approved Tachograph Centre (ATC) within seven days.
The seven-day repair requirement comes from EC Regulation 3821/85 (now superseded by EU Regulation 165/2014, which continues to have effect in UK law post-Brexit via the Retained EU Law framework). The obligation to maintain manual records in the interim is not discretionary.
Driving Without a Card
If the tachograph detects that the vehicle is moving without a driver card present in slot 1, it logs the event. On a printout, this is usually shown as a driver symbol with a question mark. This event is automatically stored in the vehicle unit memory and is one of the first things a DVSA enforcement officer checks during a roadside inspection or operator compliance audit.
Overspeed Event
Most digital tachographs log an overspeed event when the vehicle exceeds its programmed speed limit for more than 60 consecutive seconds. The event is stored with a timestamp and the speed recorded. These events are visible on printouts and form part of any DVSA risk assessment of an operator.
Power Supply Interruption
A battery or power symbol with a line through it indicates that the tachograph’s power supply was cut. This can be an electrical fault, but it is also one of the indicators that enforcement officers use to identify potential tampering. Any unexplained power interruption will be scrutinised.
How to Read a Tachograph Printout
A tachograph printout is a chronological record of every activity logged during a shift, displayed as a timeline with symbols. Understanding it protects you at roadside checks and during operator audits.
What the Printout Shows
The same four activity symbols appear on the printout as on the display. Alongside them, the printout includes the driver’s name, card number, vehicle registration, start and end odometer readings, start and end locations, and any events or faults logged during the shift.
Activity is shown as a horizontal bar, with the symbol for each mode displayed above the corresponding time block. Gaps in the record (periods with no card inserted) are shown separately and flagged.
Start and End Locations
UK DVSA enforcement guidance requires that locations recorded at the start and end of each shift be specific enough to be meaningful. A town or city name is the minimum standard. ‘Manchester’, ‘Dover’, or ‘Birmingham’ are acceptable. ‘The yard’, a postcode alone, or a depot internal name are not sufficient and will be challenged at a roadside check.
The location prompt appears when a driver’s card is first inserted at the start of a shift. Most drivers accept the first prompt without reading it carefully. Entering an accurate town name takes ten seconds and removes a source of potential infringement.
Interpreting Summaries on the Printout
Beyond the shift timeline, printouts from most digital tachograph units include summary totals: cumulative driving time, break time, working time, and the time remaining before the next mandatory break or rest is required. These summaries use icons alongside the relevant symbol (steering wheel for driving, bed for rest, and so on) with hours and minutes displayed.
For double-manned vehicles, the printout distinguishes between data from driver slot 1 and slot 2. Each driver’s record is clearly attributed, which is important when verifying that both drivers have complied with their individual hours limits.
Overspeed and Event Markers on Printouts
Event icons on a printout are flagged prominently and are separate from the normal activity record. An overspeed marker, a driving-without-card event, or a power interruption each appears with a timestamp. A clean printout with no event markers is the clearest signal to an enforcement officer that the driver and operator take compliance seriously.
Manual Entries: When and How
A manual entry is required whenever the tachograph has not automatically captured an activity that should be on the record. The most common situations are:
- Activities that took place before the driver’s card was inserted at the start of a shift
- Rest periods were taken away from the vehicle when the card was not in the tachograph
- Any period when the driver was working for a different employer and that time needs to be reflected
Manual entries are made through the tachograph’s menu system and require the driver to input the activity type, start time, and end time. DVSA inspectors are trained to identify implausible manual entries, including entries where the times claimed do not match journey patterns or where rest periods are inserted retrospectively in ways that conveniently resolve an hours infringement.
Keep manual entries accurate and contemporaneous where possible.
Compliance Management: Reducing Tachograph Risk
For transport managers, the volume of tachograph data generated across a fleet makes manual review impractical. A driver doing five shifts a week generates five printouts; a fleet of 20 drivers generates 100 per week. Infringement reports, event flags, and hours summaries need to be reviewed quickly enough to allow corrective action before the same error repeats.
Pocket Box tachograph analysis software reads downloaded vehicle unit and driver card data, flags infringements by category and severity, and gives transport managers a clear view of which drivers need attention and what the specific breach was. For operators preparing for a DVSA compliance audit, this audit trail is the difference between demonstrating a managed system and having no evidence of oversight.
Download the daily vehicle inspection checklist to build pre-departure checks into every shift record. The breakdown procedure template and accident report form support the broader compliance picture that DVSA auditors look at alongside tachograph records.
Conclusion
The four activity symbols are the foundation of every compliant shift record. Driving activates automatically; everything else requires a deliberate choice. Selecting the wrong mode, or failing to switch at all, creates a record that does not reflect what actually happened. That discrepancy is what DVSA enforcement officers look for.
For drivers, the highest-risk moments are the break (failing to switch to rest) and waiting time (Other Work versus POA). For transport managers, the risk is volume: errors that go unreviewed repeat across a fleet until they become a pattern visible to DVSA.
Get the symbols right at the point of recording. Review downloaded data regularly. And if a fault appears, keep manual records and get the unit repaired. That is the full picture.
FAQs
What is the difference between ‘Other Work’ and ‘Period of Availability’ on a tachograph?
‘Other Work’ (crossed hammers) covers any employer task that is not driving: loading, walkaround checks, paperwork, waiting when the duration is unknown. It counts as working time under the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005.
‘Period of Availability’ (square with a diagonal line) applies when you are not working but must remain available, and you know in advance how long the wait will be: a scheduled loading slot, ferry crossing, or riding as a second driver. POA does not count as working time
A fault symbol has appeared on my tachograph. What do I do?
Note the time and odometer reading, then begin manual records immediately: write down each activity (driving, other work, rest) with start and end times and your location. You are not exempt from the hours rules because the unit has failed.
Report it to your transport manager and have the unit repaired at an Approved Tachograph Centre within seven days. Keep any printout the unit produces before or after the fault.
How do I correctly enter my start and end location on a tachograph?
Enter the name of the town or city where your duty begins and ends. ‘Birmingham’ or ‘Dover’ are acceptable. A depot name, internal reference, or postcode alone is not sufficient and will be challenged at a roadside check. If you are in a rural location, use the nearest named town or village.
What does the out-of-scope symbol mean?
It indicates the journey falls outside the drivers’ hours regulations: driving on private land, or operating a vehicle exempt under Schedule 2 of the Goods Vehicles (Keeping of Records) Regulations 1987. It must never be used to avoid logging time. Using it outside a genuine exemption is a falsification offence.
How often does a tachograph need to be calibrated?
Every two years, at an Approved Tachograph Centre. An out-of-calibration unit is not legally compliant, and the records it produces can be challenged. Operators are responsible for keeping calibrations current across their fleet.
What is the correct break pattern under EC drivers’ hours rules?
After no more than 4.5 hours of driving, you must take a break of at least 45 minutes. It can be split into a 15-minute break followed by a 30-minute break, in that order only. During the break, the tachograph must show the Rest/Break symbol. Any Other Work resets the break clock.
The 4.5 hours is cumulative driving time. A driver who drives two hours, takes a break, then drives 2.5 more hours has reached the limit and must break again before driving further.
