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Operators could lose up to three hours' work a week from every driver they employ if they are using digital tachographs. Figures show that for a driver with a stop/start-oriented driving week, digitachs record more time than their analogue counterparts. This is because the digitachs are programmed to round periods up to the nearest minute, rather than recording them in seconds.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has called for something to be done to address the problem as a matter of  urgency. In this week's Investigation, Vosa claims that digitachs also round down periods of time. However it has since clarified that this is only the case for 'other activities' - so it excludes driving. A Vosa spokesman also states: "Where driving has taken place in the minutes either side of a single minute in which no driving has occurred, then that minute will also be deemed to be driving activity time. The concern is that the driver has a reduced amount of 'real time' in which to complete his journeys.

"We are looking at the issue with the RHA and will comment further once we have had an opportunity to look at the data," he adds. Jack Semple, head of policy at the RHA, points out: "It will most affect those already working at the limit." And Geoff Dossetter, external affairs director at the Freight Transport Association, warns: "There is no doubt there will be some losers in this situation."