Your fleet can track your truck, but it can’t track you without limits. Under the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016\/679), your employer has to have a lawful reason to collect and process any data about you \u2014 including GPS location, tachograph records, dash cam footage, and driver behaviour scores. If they can’t justify it, they’re breaking the law, and you have the right to demand they stop. This guide breaks down exactly what fleets can legally monitor, what crosses the line, and how to enforce your rights.<\/p>\n
The GDPR applies to any “personal data” \u2014 anything that can identify you. That’s your name, your driving licence number, your tachograph card data, your location when you’re behind the wheel, and even your face on a cab camera. Your employer is the “data controller,” which means they carry the legal responsibility for handling that data properly.<\/p>\n
For every piece of data they collect, they need one of six lawful bases under Article 6. In trucking, the ones that come up are usually:<\/p>\n
Here’s the key point: “consent” is almost never valid between an employer and employee. The European Data Protection Board has stated that because you depend on your job, you can’t freely give or refuse consent. So if your company hands you a form saying “I consent to GPS tracking,” that form is legally weak. They need a real basis instead.<\/p>\n
Plenty of monitoring is lawful and you won’t win a fight against it. Fleets have a genuine interest in vehicle safety, cargo security, and fuel costs. Here’s what generally holds up:<\/p>\n