By summer 2004, all new commercial road haulage vehicles in the European Union (EU) are required to have a secure, digital tachograph system in an effort to better enforce European law, improve road safety, and maintain fair competition.
Based on smart cards, motion sensors, and digital units, the new system will replace the conventional paper discs and mechanical tachograph units that have been used to monitor drivers of trucks and buses up to now.
RSA Security Inc has announced that the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in the United Kingdom has selected RSA Keon digital certificate management software to provide authentication features for its new digital tachograph card system, a device for recording speed and distance of a heavy-goods vehicle.
As the UK member state certification authority, the DVLA will use RSA software to issue digital certificates to ensure authenticity of vehicle units and cards, and provide the underlying security for the digital tachograph system.
Digital signatures will be used to sign data exchanges and guarantee the validity of the information — including details of the driver, hours driven, rest periods, distance, and speed traveled — in case the electronic records are presented to courts for the prosecution of drivers' hours infringements.
Working with IBM/Fujitsu, the DVLA is the first transport authority to implement a fully operational certificate authority in compliance with the EU digital tachograph mandate. RSA Security adapted its Keon digital certificate management system to support the specialized certificates required by EU specifications.
The digital format provides other benefits, including the ability to apply European transport legislation seamlessly across all member states.
New trucks and buses will be equipped with a new digital tachograph unit that will be integrated and calibrated to a motion sensor on the vehicle. Each driver will receive a personal smart card to insert into the unit when driving, so that details of the journey are recorded.
For more information, contact RSA Security, RSA House, Western Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, United Kingdom, RG12 1RT;. e-mail [email protected]; phone +44-1344-781000; fax +44-1344-781010; or access www.rsasecurity.com/.