Drivers & hours
What is a driver card?
A driver card is the smart card that records a driver's activity across every vehicle they use. It belongs to the driver, and its data must be downloaded and kept by the operator.
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<img src="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/driver-card/diagram.svg" alt="driver card — diagram from FleetOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/driver-card">What is a driver card?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk">FleetOptix</a>
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</figure>It is the driver's record where the vehicle unit is the vehicle's, which is why both have to be downloaded: one shows what a driver did across vehicles, the other what a vehicle did across drivers.
Cards have limited memory and overwrite the oldest data, which is why download intervals matter. Data lost to overwriting is simply gone.
A driver working without inserting their card produces missing mileage on the vehicle unit, which is one of the clearest signals in the whole system and one an examiner goes looking for.
What goes wrong in practice
- Downloads missed, allowing data to be overwritten before it is captured.
- Cards shared or used by another driver, which is a serious offence.
- Damaged or lost cards not replaced promptly, leaving a gap in the record.