ok this may seem a bit stupid but i need to know “what the law says” about this subject.
i drive drawbars on night trunk,it takes 4.5hrs (or just under ) to get from A to B.
i have my 45minutes break while the truck is being unloaded and reloaded for return journey.(and it is ready in under 45 mins,great lads on the forks 
)
then obviousley 4.5hrs (or just under) on return.
now my question is this. when im having my break the night staff whom are employed by the same company as me and are insured and licenced to drive any of our trucks have to shunt my truck around to unload it.(its only a narrow ware house so they can only get to one side at a time) WHAT WOULD YOU DO ABOUT THE TACHO? some drivers have said it`s ok that it shows the truck has been moved during your rest and others say take the tacho out during your break! which is legal?
thanks in advance.
An unexplained movement on your chart during your break will mean the Ministry will not count it as a full 45 minute break
Either note on the back of the chart that the truck was shunted by the warehouse staff… or remove the chart for the 45 minutes and manually enter the break on the back with a note to explain why you have done it…
What you are doing seems legal, but how do you prove it when stopped by the ministry?
I think you should remove you Tacho because somebody else is using your truck, but this means every night you are going to have to produce a manual entry which which the ministry don’t really like (the odd occasion is ok) and if they check back they are going to see that your truck was moved without a record of this. If you leave your tacho in it is still going to show a movement whilst on break, the ministry won’t like that either.
I think you need to talk to the ministry and get them to send you a written reply which you could carry and show if challenged about you tacho’s.
thanks both of you.it seems that removing the tacho must be the best option and ill take your advice muckles.i`ll get in touch with the ministry and try to get a “covering letter”
When this happens with me I write on the back something like:
" vehicle moved by warehouse staff whilst on break" and the time(s) of the unaccompanied movement.
I think this is a better method than taking the chart out and making a manual entry for the rest on the graph on the rear for the missing time as ministry men can get very suspicious about gaps. If it’s all above board you can explain the method of working to them, especially if it is a regualr occurence.
isnt that tacho personally for you not the truck ■■?
Another point to consider is whether the warehouse area in monitored by CCTV and the Retention Policy for the video tapes.
If you were to be involved in a serious accident on your return journey, then the VI would most likely ask to view any tapes of the loading activity to establish which person actually moved the vehicle and at what time.
The same principal applies to multi-drop drivers who leave their tacho’s on break all day. They often fail to appreciate that their actions are frequently being recorded by town centre, or shopping centre schemes, or by the customers own system, and they are leaving themselves wide open to prosecution should the wheel come off.
Tipping while on break is also a no no. But I am sure we have all done it 
Wayne.
Personally Wayne,I couldn’t condone such behaviour.
Ken.
Would the warehouse staff not use a second tacho while they drive the truck?, if they did and you got a photo copy of it to take with you you would probably be ok.
It would certainly show someone else was driving it.
Write a note on the reverse and sign it each night saying the vehicle was moved by other staff.
Removing the card would have some MOT personnel thinking you are hiding something.
Qhunter:
When this happens with me I write on the back something like:" vehicle moved by warehouse staff whilst on break" and the time(s) of the unaccompanied movement.
I think this is a better method than taking the chart out and making a manual entry for the rest on the graph on the rear for the missing time as ministry men can get very suspicious about gaps. If it’s all above board you can explain the method of working to them, especially if it is a regualr occurence.
This is okay, but your tacho should show your movements not that of the truck. if you were moving to other work and your truck was taken bt somebosy elase then the regs state that you should remove your tacho and make a manual entry. However as you say the ministry will get suspicous if the tacho is removed everyday, but then they will also question if it is moved everyday whilst on break. I think to follow the regs take the tacho out, but thats why I advised getting a written conformation from the ministry if possible.
When you get to your destination why not move your chart into the second man disk slot and set driver 2 on rest.
If you do the same run each week you could then attach a note stating that you have been in the canteen whilst the warehouse staff have unloaded / loaded the truck
I used to work at a firm where fork lift drivers regularly moved vehicles and loaded them whilst the drivers were away on a break. As a result of local environmental problems with the operating centre we had all our charts regularly examined by the FTA and regular ministry visits.
As these loading movements were normal operating practice and they were explained by the entry on the rear of the chart the question of apparently interrupted breaks was never brought up.
then you have not completed your 45min break. i think the police would book you if stopped on the return journey to you depot, especially if you explained to them what happens at the loading area.this is classed as other work therefore you should take your 45 after you have been loaded.i think you’d better ask your local traffic department for some advice on the legal stance on this one.
I might be wrong here, but as the movement whilst unloading/loading is on private property I dont think it counts anyway.
But I would take my card out if someone else was going to drive!
Well I reckon that the law says you must remove the chart if the vehicle is to be moved by A N Other during a break, but doing it every day looks a bit suspect.
Wouldn’t it be easier to have 20 minutes on the way down and 25 in the depot. then you could leave the card in and move the truck yourself.
Get a Drivers Hour Guard to help you. I know a man who can!!!.
Commision to Wheelnut 
If you are no longer in charge of the vehicle then you could remove the chart & when the vehicle is being shunted off road a chart is not required, so a record of movement by a second driver is not required, but inserting a second chart drivers name “warehouse staff” at the start of each shift would provide a full record of the nights movements.
Also by inserting a second chart at the start of the shift any pull would prove the charts from other nights.
according to the Theory Test book, you should remove the tacho and record the break manually on the back, as stated earlier in the thread.
CBR_SI:
according to the Theory Test book, you should remove the tacho and record the break manually on the back, as stated earlier in the thread.
seems like the answer i can then just refer any ministry or law enforcement officer 
to the said reference thanks for the input everyone.