Continental targets full range of tacho services

Continental, the leading manufacturer of digital tachographs, aims to become a one-stop-shop for all operators' digitach and drivers' hours compliance requirements.

As well as making the latest hardware - its DTCO 1381 is the first digitach to take full advantage of the "rounding up" changes to Annex 1B of the drivers' hours rules that could add 30 to 45 minutes driving time a day on multi-drop operations - Continental already offers training and a free helpline for operators struggling with digital tachographs and those wanting to get the best out of their analysis tools.

But UK MD Paul Jennings says the VDO brand is synonymous with digital tachographs and the company is looking at expanding its range of services to include advice on how to get the most from the drivers' hours legislation and analysing tacho data to ensure drivers comply with the rules.

"Continental is often the first port of call for operators, drivers, VOSA and the police when they have questions about digital tachos and drivers' hours," says Jennings. "We are looking at adding more consultancy services to make us a one-stop-shop."