New regulations mean that drivers of commercial bakery vehicles will need to be even more careful if they are to avoid roadside fines of up to £200.

The graduated fixed penalty scheme went ‘live’ in May, which means Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) enforcers can now issue fixed penalties to drivers for infringements detected during roadside checks.

Last year, 15% of HGVs received prohibitions for drivers’ hours and tachograph infringements – a tachograph records the vehicle’s speed and whether it is moving or stationary – the average fine being £190, with a maximum of £5,000.

For bakers looking to squeeze more value from their supply chains and keep the cost of bread down, tachograph performance is, therefore, a fundamental area not to be overlooked.

Employers also face fines, licence suspensions and revocations if their Operator Compliance Risk Score is impacted – worryingly, the number of prohibitions issued rose by 50% from 2007 to 2008.

Drivers can help reduce potential tachograph infringements, with one of the biggest reasons for non-compliance being failure to produce tachograph charts.

However, tachograph information is useless unless it is interpreted intelligently, so it pays to select a provider based on more than just initial cost.

Tachograph customers should ask their supplier if it can offer on-site analysis and staff training, as well as just a range of data solutions.

For more information on tachograph compliance, visit www.fta.co.uk/services/tachofta.

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