Driving at work regulations

Gillian Craig - MacRoberts Solicitors
Online advisor - 2 posts

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 (to be updated by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (the new regulation) in April 2007) limits the daily driving period to 9 hours, although this may be extended twice in one week to 10 hours, with a daily rest break of 11 hours, which may be reduced to 9 hours up to three times in one week.

After 6 days, a driver must have a weekly rest period. This should be 45 consecutive hours although can be reduced to 36 hours if taken where the vehicle is normally based or 24 hours if taken else where.

Where the vehicle is carrying passengers, the weekly rest period may be postponed until the week following that in which the rest is due and added on to the second week, thus allowing the driver to work 7 days. However, this is not provided for in the new regulations.

The total period of driving in any one period shall not exceed 90 hours, or under the new regulation 56 hours in any one week.

To summarise drivers cannot drive for 10 hours more than twice in one week and only where the vehicle is carrying passengers can the weekly rest period be postponed to allow them to work 7 consecutive days.

Darren Sherborne - BPE Solicitors
Online advisor - 19 posts

It is worth adding to this that the Working Time Regulations, as ammended for mobile workers, makes self employed drivers exempt from these restrictions.
Be warned however that the definition of "self employed" is drafted very narrowly. This means that while you might think a driver is self employed, he/she may not be for the purposes of the regulations. The terms of the self employed drivers contract need to be very carefully drafted indeed to benefit from this exemption.

Dave Wales
Member - 2 posts

How does this apply to service engineers who may drive to site - say 2.5 hours work all day and then return home - another 2.5 hours making a total of 12-13 hour day - although this would not be every day?

Ian Boyce
Member - 1 post

Is it correct that when at a collection, and in the back off the vehicle, waiting for goods and paperwork. That this time should be recorded as PoA, is it will extend the driving day.

drew reid
Member - 10 posts

Gillian, having been a transport manager for 6 years and CPC Passenger Transport National Holder, that is the first time I have ever heard of the 7 day driving, under EC 561/2006 a weekly rest MUST be taken after 6 consecutive driving periods, working on the 7th will give an infringement of "Insufficient Weekly Rest", a level 3 fine can be imposed - up to £2500 if memory serves correctly. Any other work should be recorded on the tachograph by using the crossed hammers symbol ie other work, this includes, loading/unloading, vehicle cleaning, again , failure to do so is also a recognised infringement of "incorrect use of mode switch". The only exemptions to EC 561/2006 come under UK domestic regulations for regular services (PCV) within 50km of base depot.

drew reid
Member - 10 posts

After checking at work, I should maybe also point out that 56 hours can only be driven in a week providing that no more than 34 hours were driven the previous week and 34 hours the week after. Also these regulations only apply to vehicles exceeding 3.5T MGW and any with more than nine passenger seats including the driver. The old ruling of a PCV driver working more than 6 days but no more than 12 and then having 2 regular rest periods was removed on April 11 2007, however a derogation is being introduced to allow this for European tour work only.