What does the second-generation smart tachograph record?
Adopted 2026-06-14 · ≈ 2 min read · 
edited by Dirk Baaijen
The second-generation smart tachograph (ST2) records driving and rest times plus, new under the Mobility Package, automatic border crossings and loading/unloading events via satellite positioning.
Short answer: The second-generation smart tachograph (ST2) records the classic driving and rest times, and in addition automatically logs the vehicle's border crossings and loading/unloading events. The latter is the heart of the upgrade under the Mobility Package.
What ST2 captures
The ST2 builds on the existing tachograph rules from Regulation (EU) 165/2014 and extends them on the basis of the Mobility Package, Regulation (EU) 2020/1054. Alongside the usual recording of driving times, rest periods, speed and distance travelled, the second generation adds two functions designed to support enforcement in international transport.
First, the device automatically records border crossings. Using satellite positioning, the tachograph logs where and when the vehicle crosses a national border, without the driver having to enter this manually. Second, loading and unloading events are recorded, so that enforcement officers can reconstruct where cargo was picked up or dropped off. Together these data give a more accurate picture of how the vehicle is deployed across European borders.
Why this matters
This automatic recording supports compliance with the cabotage and posting rules that the Mobility Package introduced for the transport sector. Because border crossings and loading/unloading events are captured objectively and automatically, it becomes harder to obscure the actual route and use of a vehicle. For carriers, this means that administrative records and real trip data must align more closely.
What you need to know about the roll-out
The roll-out proceeds in phases. Vehicles fitted with an analogue or first-generation digital tachograph in international transport had to be retrofitted with the ST2 by the end of 2024, with a learning phase until 28 February 2025. Vehicles with a first smart tachograph (ST1) must have migrated to the ST2 by 18 August 2025. Vans of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes in international transport come under the tachograph obligation from 1 July 2026.
Read the main file: Smart tachograph and the Mobility Package. Or take the Transport & Logistics scan.
Sources
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/1054/oj
Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 (Mobility Package); second-generation smart tachograph.
Read next
Which smart tachograph deadline applies to my truck?
The deadline depends on your current device: analogue/first-generation digital had to be retrofitted by end 2024 (learning phase until 28 Feb 2025), ST1 to ST2 by 18 Aug 2025, and vans of 2.5-3.5 tonnes in international transport from 1 July 2026.
Smart tachograph 2 & the Mobility Package: the deadlines for road transport
The Mobility Package (Regulation (EU) 2020/1054) requires trucks in international transport to fit the second-generation smart tachograph. Older vehicles had to switch by end 2024; ST1 follows on 18 August 2025, vans 2.5–3.5 t from July 2026. The deadlines at a glance.
Does the tachograph duty apply to my van (2.5–3.5 t)?
Yes, but only from 1 July 2026 and only for vans of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes used for international transport. The required device is the second-generation smart tachograph (ST2) under the Mobility Package.