Drivers' hours rules

EU rules on drivers' hours

BREAKS

After a driving period of no more than 4.5 hours, a driver must immediately take a break of at least 45 minutes, unless he takes a rest period. A break taken in this way must not be interrupted.

For example:

A break is any period during ehich a driver may not carry out any driving or any other work and which is used exclusively for recuperation. A break may be taken in a moving vehicle, provided no other work is undertaken.

Alternatively, a full 45 - minute break can be replaced by one break of at least 15 minutes followed by another break of at least 30 minutes. These breaks must be distributed over the 4.5 - hour period. Breaks of less than 15 minutes will not contribute towards a qualifying break, but neither will they be counted as duty or driving time. The EU rules will only allow a split-break pattern that shows the second period of break being at least 30 minutes, such as the following examples:

 

The following split-break pattern is illegal, because the second break is less than 30 minutes

A driver 'wipes the slate clean' if he takes a 45 - minute break (or qualifying breaks totalling 45 minutes) before or at the end of 4.5 - hour driving period. This means that the next 4.5 - hour period begins with the completion of that qualifying break, and in assessing break requirements for the new 4.5 - hour period, no reference is to be made to driving time accumulated before this point.

For example: 

Breaks may also be required under the separate Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. 

DAILY DRIVING LIMIT

The maximum daily driving time is 9 hours; for example:

 
This can be increased to 10 hours twice a week; for example:

Daily driving time is:
• the total accumulated driving time between the end of one daily rest period and the beginning of the following daily rest period; or
• the total accumulated driving time between a daily rest period and a weekly rest period.

Note: Driving time includes any off-road parts of journey where the rest of that journey is made on the public highway. Journeys taking place entirely off road would be considered as 'other work '.
So, for example, any time spent driving off road between a parking/rest area and a loading bay prior to travelling on a public road would constitute driving time, but it would be regarded as other work where an entire load is picked up and deposited on the same off-road site.

WEEKLY DRIVING LIMIT

The maximum weekly driving limit is 56 hours, which applies to a fixed week.
The following is an example of how this might be achieved:

Total weekly hours = (4x9) = (2x10) = 56
The fixed week starts at 00:00 on Monday and ends at 24:00 on the following Sunday.

TWO-WEEKLY DRIVING LIMIT

The maximum driving time over any two weeks is 90 hours;
for example:

The following is an example of how a driver's duties might be organised in compliance with the rules on weekly and two - weekly driving limits.

DAILY REST PERIODS

A driver must take a daily rest period within each period of 24 hours after the end of the previous daily or weekly rest period. An 11 - hour (or more) daily rest is called a regular daily rest period.
A rest is an uninterrupted period where a driver may freely dispose of his time. Time spent working in other employment or under obligation or instruction, regardless of the occupation type, cannot be counted as rest, including work where you are self - employed.

Alternatively, a driver can split a regular daily rest period into two periods. The first period must be at least 3 hours of uninterrupted rest and can be taken at any time during day. The second must be at least 9 hours of uninterrupted rest, giving a total minimum rest of 12 hours; for example: 

 A driver may reduce his daily rest period to no less than 9 continous hours, but this can be done no more than three times between any two weekly rest periods, and no compensation for the reduction is required. A daily rest that is less than 11 hours but at least 9 hours long is called a reduced daily rest period.

Where a daily rest is taken, this may be taken in a vehicle, provided that it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.
To summarise, a driver who begins work at 06:00 on day 1 must, by 06:00 on day 2 at the latest, have completed either:

• a regular daily rest period of at least 11 hours; or
• a split daily rest period of at least 12 hours; or
• if entitled, a reduced daily rest period of at least 9 hours.

Regular daily rest: A continuous period of at least 11 hours' rest
Split daily rest period: A regular rest taken in two separate periods - the first at least 3 hours, and the second at least 9 hours.

Reduced daily rest period: A continuous rest period of at least 9 hours but less than 11 hours.

MULTI - MANNING

'Multi - manning' is the situation where, during each periodof driving between any two consecutive daily rest periods, or between a daily rest period and a weekly rest period, there are at least two drivers in the vehicle to do the driving. For the first hour of multi - manning the presence of another driver or drivers is optional, but for the remainder of the period it is compulsory. This allows for a vehicle to depart from its operating centre and collect a second driver along the way, providing that this is done within one hour of the first driver starting work.

Vehicles manned by two or more drivers are governed by the same rules that apply to single - manned vehicles, apart from the daily rest requirements.

Where a vehicles is manned by two or more drivers, each driver must have a daily rest period of at least 9 consecutive hours within the 30 - hour period that starts at the end of the last daily or weekly rest period.

Organising drivers' duties in such a fashion enables their duties to be spread over 21 hours.

This is an example of how the duties of a two - man crew could be organised to take maximum advantage of multi - manning rules:

The maximum driving for a two - man crew taking advantage of this concession is 20 hours before a daily rest is required (although only if both drivers are entitled to drive 10 hours).
Under multi - manning, the 'second' driver in a crew may not necessarily be the same driver for the duration of the first driver's shift but could in principle be any number of drivers as long as the conditions are met. Whether these second drivers could claim the multi - manning concession in these circumstances would depend on their other duties.
On a multi - manning operation the first 45 minutes of a period of availability will be considered to be a break, so long as the co - driver does no work.

JOURNEYS INVOLVING FERRY or TRAIN TRANSPORT

Where a driver accompanies a vehicle that is being transported by ferry or train, the daily rest requiments are more flexible.
A regular daily rest period may be interrupted no more than twice, but the total interruption must not exceed 1 hour in total. This allows for a vehicle to be driven onto a ferry and off at the end of a sea crossing. Where the rest period is interrupted in this way, the total cumulated rest period must still be 11 hours. A bunk or couchette must be available during the rest period.

For example, a qualifying regular daily rest period could be interrupted in the following manner:

WEEKLY REST PERIODS

A driver must start a weekly rest period no later than at the end of six consecutive 24 - hour  periods from the end of the last weekly rest period.

A regular weekly rest period is a period of at least 45 consecutive hours.

A weekly rest period is the weekly period during which drivers may freely dispose of their time. It may be either a 'regular weekly rest period' or a 'reduced weekly rest period'.

Note: An actual working week starts at the end of a weekly rest period, and finishes when another weekly rest period is commenced, which may mean weekly rest is taken in the middle of a fixed (Monday to Sunday) week. This is perfectly acceptable - the working week is not required to be aligned with the ;fixed' week contained in the rules, provided all the relevant limits are complied with.

Alternatively, a driver can take a reduced weekly rest period of a minimum of 24 consecutive hours. If a reduction is taken, it must be compensated for by an equivalent period of rest taken in one block before the end of the third week following the week in question. The compensating rest must be attached to a period of rest of at least 9 hours - in wffect either a weeekly or a daily rest period.

For example, whwere a driver reduces a weekly rest period to 33 hours in week 1, he must compensate for this by attaching a 12 - hour period of rest to another rest period of at least 9 houers before the end of week 4. This compensation cannot be taken in several smaller periods.

A regular weekly rest is a period of rest of at lest 45 hours' duration.
A reduced weekly rest is a rest period of at least 24 but less than 45 hours' duration.

In any two consecutive 'fixed' weeks a driver must take at least:
• two regular weekly rests; or
• one regular weekly rest and one reduced weekly rest.

The following tables are examples of how a driver's duties might be organised in compliance with the rules on weekly rest, which allow two reduced weekly rest periods to be taken consecutively. This complies with the rules because at least one regular and one reduced weekly rest period have been taken in two consecutive 'fixed' weeks.

 
The following table is an example of how the driver's duties might be organised in compliance with the rules on weekly rest, whereby one reduced weekly rest period may be taken in any period of two consecutive weeks under 'normal' circumstances.

A weekly rest period that falls in two weeks may be counted in either week but not in both. However, a rest period of at least 69 hours in total may be counted as two back-to-back weekly rests (e.g. a 45 - hour weekly rest followed by 24 hours), provided that the driver does not exceed 144 hours' work either before or after the rest period in question.

Where reduced weekly rest periods are taken away from base, these may be taken in a vehicle, provided that it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.

Note: Operators who utilise a cyclical shift pattern should take care that their shift patterns allow for compliance with the rolling two - weekly requirements for weekly rest and compensation.