DEFINITIONS

Working Week. Under the current EC Tachograph regulations, the Working Week is formally defined as being a "fixed" 7 calendar period: from 00:00 hours Monday to 24:00 on Sunday.

Driving Day. The term "Driving Day" describes the period of duty (working day/shift) during which a driver undertakes one or more journeys in control of an HGV or PSV.

Driving Week. Any sequence of consecutive Driving Days may be described as a Driving week.

Daily Rest. Daily Rest is the off-duty time interval taken before the start of or at the end of a Driving Day.

Break Period. The term "Break Period" describes an interval during the working day/shift when a driver is neither driving nor doing any other form of work.

Rest and Break Time Limits:

Weekly Rest 45 Hours
Daily Rest 11 Hours
Break Period 45 Minutes

REST CONCESSIONS. Can be reduced at the employer's or drivers discretion.

A) Weekly Rest may be reduced below 45 hours to a minimum of 36 hours when the driver/vehicle is at "home base" or to a minimum of 24 hours when "away from base".

B) Daily Rest may be reduced below 11 hours to a minimum 9 hours three times in each Working Week (the "fixed" calendar week). Any reduction must be compensated by the end of the next working week, of within the following three Working Weeks for a Weekly Rest concession, and is actioned by adding each supplementary time period to a routine Weekly or Daily Rest.

Rest and Break Option

C) One portion is a minimum of 8 hours duration.

D) No single portion is of less than 1 hour duration

E)The sum of all portions is not less than 12 hours. Similarly, the standard 45 minute break from driving may be split into 2 or 3 seperate periods so long as:

F)No one period is less than 15 minutes duration.

G)The sum of all valid periods is at least 45 minutes. This "split break" option has a significant influence on the Continuous Drive Time calculation.

Tachograph Chart Centre Field.

It is assumed that all drivers know how to fill-in the centre field. If not we do have a Drivers Hours Guide Book.

Daily Rest Option Explained

Daily Rest/Driving Day Options. In practical terms, there are five Daily Rest/Driving Day Options:

A) 13 hours (or less) work after 11 hours (or more) rest. This could be termed as a "Standard" rest/work combination usable for six consecutive Driving Days without penalty.

B)13 hours (or less) work after 9 to (less than) 11 hours rest. The Daily Rest figured in this option is within the reduced rest allowance and is counted as one of the three Concession Rest Periods permitted in each Working Week.

C)More than 13 hours work after 9 to (less than) 11 hours rest.

D)More than13 hours work after 11 hours (or more) rest. Whenever the length of a driving day exceeds 13 hours (even by one minute) the amount of daily rest which can be counted in a 24 hour period is automatically less than 11 hours (since 24 hours minus 13 hours and 1 minute leaves a remainder of 10 hours and 59 minutes as countable rest). In other words, although actual Daily Rest may be 11 hours, the effective rest period is reduced below 11 hours and consequently one Concession Rest is used.

E) 16 hours (or less) work after 8 hours (or more) rest. If 1 or 2 periods of rest of at least 1 hour duration each have been taken during the driving day, and the total of all rest periods in 24 hours is at least 12 hours, then the Split Rest Option has been satisfied and no concession penalty would be counted.

The continuous Drive Calculation Explained.

A) The Driving Time 4 hours & 30 (or less). When the total drive time in a working day is 4 hours & 30 (or less) there is no need to record any break from work or driving.

B) Total Driving Time (more than) 4 hours & 30 with a 45 minute break. If after an initial period of driving, a 45 minute break is taken the driver is entitled to accumulate a further 4 hours & 30 driving without the need to take or record any further breaks. The amount of driving accumulated both before and after this 45 minute break should be totalled separately to give two Continuous Drive figures, each of which must be within the 4 hours & 30 limit. A subsequent, second 45 minute break would then allow another 4 hours & 30 driving to be undertaken (subject to daily drive limits), and would create a third Continuous Drive Time figure.

Two Drivers Double Manned Operations.

A) Both drivers should prepare and use their own individual chart/s

B) Both charts should be kept in the tachograph throughout the full working day, but change from Driver 1 position to Driver 2, and vice versa, depending on which driver has responsibility for the vehicle and its movement.

C)Each driver must use the appropriate Mode Switch (Driver 1 or Driver 2 to record his/her individual periods of non driving time and breaks from work. Time, speed, and distance of vehicle movement can be recorded only in the Driver 1 position of the tachograph instrument, and it is the responsibility of the crew member occupying that position to ensure that this one Mode Switch is used to show his/her driving time on the chart.

D)Both drivers must complete their respective chart at the end of the working day, and both should enter odometer figures for the whole of the double-manned journey rather than their own portion of it.

Operating Limits

Standard operating time limits apply to double-manned journeys except that:

E) The figures for Daily Rest are revised in that each driver must have a minimum of 8 hours uninterrupted rest in a 30 hour period.

F) Each crew member may claim and record break time while the other is "at the wheel" in control of the vehicle.

Emergencies

"Provided that road safety is not jeopardised, and to enable a driver to reach a suitable stopping place, the driver may depart from the limits and rest requirements to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of persons, the vehicle, or its load. The driver must indicate the nature of, and reason for the occurrence on his/her tachograph chart for that day".

Ferry JourneysThe regulations allowing a period of Daily Rest to be taken part on land, and part on a Ferry Boat (in a Bunk or Couchette) states that the one permitted interruption to this Split Rest Period (for embarkation or disembarkation purposes, but not both), must be of no more than 1 hour duration and, as compensation, the total rest period taken must be 2 hours more than the normal rest figures. This means that if embarkation or disembarkation takes more than 1 hour to complete then the facility to add both periods into a figure is not valid, it also means that a ferry journey of no more than 2 hours duration adds nothing to the effective rest time because those two hours are needed to compensate for the interrupted rest allowance. In these circumstances, it would be easier for the driver to use his normal Split Rest Option

Summary

11 Consecutive hours which can be reduced to 9 hours 3 times a week with compensation before the end of the following week

8 consecutive hours when taken as one of 2 or 3 separate periods (minimum of 1 hour) totalling 12 hours of rest in any 24 hour period.

2 or more drivers 8 consecutive hours in any 30 hour period.

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