The Civil Guard in Spain is set to receive 500 new devices for checking tachograph cards as part of a recently awarded contract to improve roadside inspections and detect tachograph tampering.
Spain’s Directorate-General for Road and Rail Transport has awarded a contract for the supply of new tachograph card readers to a local computer equipment company, Otemar 2020. The company, based in Arroyo de la Encomienda, Valladolid, will supply 500 tachograph card readers for use by the Guardia Civil’s Traffic Group in roadside checks. The contract is worth €36,464.
The equipment will allow remote detection of possible tampering or misuse of tachographs, devices that monitor driving and rest periods of commercial vehicle drivers.
The awarded smart card readers feature dual connection modes—USB and Bluetooth—and are designed to meet the requirements set by the Directorate General. The devices must be lightweight, offer a battery life capable of handling at least 1,000 one-second operations per day, or 10 five-minute operations in Bluetooth mode. Additionally, they must be compliant with ISO 7816 standards for reading chip cards, particularly digital tachograph cards, and support the T=1 protocol. Compatibility with Android 12 or higher is also mandatory.
Otemar 2020, which specialises in providing technological solutions to public administrations, was the sole bidder for the contract after a review process by the Transport Ministry’s contracting committee.
