Traffic is the backbone of European integration and is crucial for achieving the free movement of people, services, and goods. With a share exceeding 9% of gross added value, and considering that more than 11 million people across the EU are employed in the transport services sector, traffic significantly contributes to the successful economy of the Union. Due to the importance of transport in the economy, as well as the need to establish strict rules to achieve and maintain healthy competition and, primarily, the maximum safety of all participants in the process, the EU has identified the priorities for road transport, which are:
• Increasing road safety, particularly through the control of driver activities,
• Ensuring minimum working conditions standards for professional drivers,
• Fair competition among transport companies from the EU.
One of the proposed solutions by the EU is certainly the greater use of technology and comprehensive analysis of tachograph data, which would allow member states to operate more efficiently.
The SOTAH - Central Processing System for Tachograph Data follows these guidelines. This unique database involves all participants covered by Croatian legislation related to the tachograph system (workshops, companies, drivers) and will enable simpler storage, review, and control of data related to the tachograph and its operation. The system will facilitate easier operations for workshops and companies, provide a more comprehensive approach to the social legislation of mobile workers, and allow analysis of all processes in the system, contributing to greater road safety and the establishment of fair market competition. SOTAH will provide workshops with tools for easier storage and recording of completed jobs for clients, thus reducing the number of unintentional mistakes. For companies, SOTAH enables simpler storage of tachograph data, timely information about each transfer, and the need for data transfer, allowing companies to analyze the collected data as needed, thereby providing a basis for timely reactions in the field which will lead to a reduced number of fines that burden company operations. Additionally, SOTAH will give drivers access to their tachograph data over an extended period.
SOTAH is platform-independent and can be accessed from various devices and locations. It is important to note that Article 3, Paragraph 6 of the Regulation on the Transfer of Data to the Central Database of Tachograph Data and the Method of Keeping Records of Working Time of Mobile Workers states that drivers and transport companies that employ them, tachograph workshops, road traffic inspectors, police officers, and other state officials from the ministry responsible for transport, by special authorization from the minister responsible for transport, can access only the data in SOTAH that relates to their activities.
Learn more about SOTAH by visiting www.sotah.hr